Box Score

Dallas, PA (Nov. 30, 2005) – College Misericordia erased a three point halftime deficit with a 17-2 run to start the second half and held on for a 59-48 win over Alvernia College in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Anderson Center.

            The Cougars (3-1, 1-0 PAC) used just seven players and missed every 3-pointer they took, but the Crusaders (1-5, 0-1), the PAC preseason favorite, were hampered by 24 turnovers as they dropped their fifth game in the first six.  All five loses have been on the road, with the win coming at home over Albright College.

            Alvernia took an early four point lead when senior guard Mandy Reinhart (Pine Grove, PA/Pine Grove), who tallied nine points on three 3s, knocked a shot down from behind the arc to put the Crusaders up 7-3.  The lead remained four, 11-7, after Reinhart’s second 3 at 12:05 and grew to as many as seven when freshman Maria Williams (Philadelphia, PA/Padua Academy), who led the Crusaders with 11, nailed a 3 at the 7:55 mark. 

            A Camrell Gholston (Westminster, PA/McDonogh School) putback three minutes later made the spread seven points again, 24-17, but the Cougars responded with a pair of buckets sandwiching one of Alvernia’s 24 turnovers.  The hosts cut the gap to one point on a Jenell Fort (Hanover Twp, PA/Scranton Prep) layup and after the teams traded buckets for the last 1:40 of the first the Crusaders took a 28-25 lead into the break.

            Alvernia started the second half with five straight turnovers and Misericordia opened up a five point lead by the 16:49 mark.  Williams scored on a steal and a layup for the guests’ first bucket of the half cutting the gap to three, but the Cougars responded with nine straight points to take a 12 point lead, 42-30 with 12:32 to play.  Alvernia went 0-for-3 from the floor during the three minute stretch while junior Megan Yhlen (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) scored five points during the run and Ericka Morrison (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake), one of two Cougars to tally a game-high 15 points, tallied the other four.

            Alvernia took a timeout following an exchange of buckets and subbed out all five players.  Reinhart tried to spark the team nailing her third and final 3 of the night coming out of the timeout, but Misericordia answered with four straight points and eight of 11 to push the lead to 14 points, the largest of the night with 8:22 to play.

            In its final attempt at a comeback, Alvernia nailed back-to-back 3s to cut the Cougars’ lead to eight, 54-46 with 4:55 left to play, but the dreaded turnover bug struck again on three straight possessions and Misericordia took the 11 point win in the conference opener for both teams.

Misericordia 59, Alvernia 48