Bobcat Weekly
Updates
Bobcat Weekly
Updates
The Bobcats competed twice last week, going 1-1 with the victory coming against AMCC foe Frostburg State. The 93-64 win over Frostburg puts the Bobcats in third place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with an 8-2 record against AMCC opponents and a 13-9 overall record.
The Bobcats will close their season with two games this week. On Wednesday, Feb. 14 the Bobcats face the first place team in the AMCC, Penn State-Behrend and travel to Pitt-Bradford on Saturday, Feb. 17. The Bobcats will compete in the AMCC tournament on Feb. 21-24. If UPG can defeat Penn State Behrend on Wednesday they would pull into a tie with both Behrend and Penn State Altoona atop the AMCC. The number one team not only receives a bye in the first round of the tournament but also hosts the final four teams on Feb. 23rd and 24th.
The Bobcats opened their week on Monday, Feb. 5 with a trip to New Wilmington, Pa. to face Westminster. The Bobcats got off to a slow start, shooting just 33 percent in the first half, and trailed Westminster 29-17 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bobcats shooting improved slightly but the Bobcats were unable to overcome the Titans, losing 64-41. Sophomore guard Jordan Fox (Hempfield Area H.S.) paced the Bobcats with 12 points while freshman forward Nicole Kushner (Canon McMilla H.S.) added nine points and a team-high three assists. Freshman forward Patti Matovich (East Allegheny H.S.) scored eight points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for UPG.
Following the loss to Westminster, the Bobcats traveled to Frostburg State University (Frostburg, Md.) for an AMCC game. It was a complete turnaround for the Bobcats shot 59-percent in the first half and led 51-30 at halftime. Kushner scored 16 first-half points and grabbed six rebounds for the Bobcats. Matovich had 10 points at the break.
The Bobcats cruised through the second half and came away with a 93-64 victory. Kushner led the way with a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore forward Erin Arnold (Kiski Area H.S.) scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out five assists, and picked up three steals for UPG. Freshman guard Torey Auld (Seneca Valley H.S.) scored eight points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out five assists for the Bobcats.
Kushner’s efforts once again earned her Honorable Mention for AMCC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week. In two games, Kushner scored 37 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and handed out six assists.
Kushner isn’t the only Bobcats making a big individual contribution. Three Bobcats on the 2000-01 roster rank in the top five in several UPG All-Time statistical categories for women’s basketball.
Arnold, senior guard Briane Krebs (Conemaugh Township H.S.), and Kushner rank third, fourth, and fifth respectively on the Bobcat’s list of all-time leading scorers. Krebs and Auld rank second and third on the list for all-time assist leaders and Arnold is second in career blocks with 27. Arnold also ranks fifth in career rebounds with 236. Krebs, who is also UPG’s career steals leader, is second on the list with 326 boards.
Krebs heads the list for career three-point field goals made while Auld is fourth on the list. Krebs and Arnold also rank in the top five for field goals made in a career and free-throws made.
The Bobcats were in action only once last week as they made the trip top Frostburg, Md. To face Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference rival Frostburg State on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The Bobcats fought hard but once again came out on the losing side, falling 89-52.
The game started in a bad way for the Bobcats as Frostburg scored the game’s first seven points en route to a 38-25 halftime lead. For the first half, the Bobcats shot 40-percent from the floor and hit just 1-7 of their three-point attempts. Senior guard Josh Sapotichne (Greensburg Salem H.S.) scored nine first-half points and blocked two shots to lead the Bobcats. Sophomore forward Garret Treese (Hempfield Area H.S.) scored seven points in the first half while sophomore forward Mike Dudek (Woodland Hills H.S.) did a solid job on the glass, pulling down six first-half rebounds.
The real highlight of the first half was when Sapotichne scored his first bucket of the game to become the second player ever in UPG history to break the 1,000 point mark. Jason Trout is the all-time leading scorer in Bobcat history with 2,168 points in his career. Sapotichne has hit the 1,000 point mark in only three seasons at UPG.
However, the Bobcats fared no better in the second half losing by 37. Three Bobcats scored in double figures, led by Dudek’s 12 points. Dudek also added eight rebounds for UPG. Sapotichne and Treese scored 11 points a piece. Treese hauled down a game-high nine rebounds in the loss while Sapotichne had two steals and two blocks. Freshman guard Scott Winfrey dished out six assists to pace the Bobcats in that category.
The loss drops the Bobcats to 2-19 overall with a 2-8 record in AMCC play. The Bobcats. The Bobcats end the regular season this week with a home contest on Wednesday, Feb. 14 against AMCC foe Penn State-Behrend before traveling to league leading Pitt-Bradford on Saturday Feb. 17 to face the Panthers. The Bobcats will compete in the first round of the AMCC tournament on Feb. 21st.
The Bobcats continued their strong season under UPG Women’s Basketball Coach Carol Gelet by going 2-0 last week with wins over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foes Lake Erie (Painesville, Ohio) and La Roche (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
The Bobcats opened their week at home against the Lake Erie Storm on Wednesday, Jan.31. After shooting just 21-percent from the floor in the first half, the Bobcats went into the locker room trailing 43-26 at intermission.
The Bobcats fought back in the second half and finally cut the margin to one-point with 8:41 remaining in the game. Then sophomore guard Jordan Fox (Hempfield Area H.S.) hit a layup to give the Bobcats a 54-53 lead with 7:45 to play. The Bobcats would lead by as many as 11 points before holding on for a 74-66 victory.
Sophomore forward Erin Arnold (Kiski Area H.S.) led the Bobcats with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals. Freshman forward Nicole Kushner (Canon McMillan H.S.) scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, four steals and one blocked shot. Fox and freshman guard Torey Auld also scored in double figures, each recording 10 points in the victory. Auld led all players with five assists. For the contest the Bobcats shot just 35-percent from the field but connected on a solid 41-percent from three-point range.
Following the victory over Lake Erie, the Bobcats were at home again on Saturday, Feb. 3 to play La Roche. The Bobcats overcame La Roche’s huge size advantage (the Redhawks suited six players that were 5’10” or taller) to take a 43-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bobcats shot 46-percent from the floor in the first half, led by senior guard Briane Krebs’ (Conemaugh Township H.S.) 16 points on 5-7 shooting, including 4-6 shooting from three-point range. Arnold grabbed 10 first-half rebounds for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats shooting improved to 58-percent in the second half as the team cruised to a 76-61 victory. For the game, the Bobcats shot 51-percent from the floor; including a remarkable 62-percent from three-point range. Krebs led the Bobcats with 20 points while Kushner and freshman forward Patti Matovich (East Allegheny H.S.) also scored in double figures for UPG. Arnold pulled down 11 rebounds and recorded five steals to lead the Bobcats in those categories.
In two games, Kushner scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out four assists, and recorded seven steals. Kushner’s efforts earned her Honorable Mention for AMCC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week.
The Bobcats are 12-8 overall with a 7-2 record in AMCC play. The team will travel to Westminster (New Wilmington, Pa.) on Monday, Feb. 5 and to AMCC foe Frostburg State (Frostburg, Md.) on Wednesday, Feb. 7.