Mansfield men, women off to fast starts

The weather is starting to get colder. The football seasons are starting to wind down, and play has begun for college basketball teams.

This year we are going to try to highlight the basketball highlights throughout the region, whether it's youth basketball, high school, college or the pros.

Each week we will have a male and female player of the week and a men's and women's team of the week, from among the regional colleges, and the area athletes who are playing college basketball anywhere.

As the high school season begins we will also break out a male and female high school player and team of the week.

With the college season just getting started, the Mansfield University teams are each off to strong starts.

WOMEN'S TEAM OF THE WEEK

The Mansfield women have started the season 2-0 with wins over Fisher College and Maine-Fort Kent at the Fisher Classic in Boston.

This marks the first time since the 2006-2007 season that the Mansfield women started 2-0 and they won their opener over Fisher 94-33. It was the most points in a season opener ever for the Mansfield program, which started in 1976, and it was the most points in any game since they beat Cheyney 97-55 in 2004.

The fast start has been fueled by Athens graduate Mallory Hafer, who has found her touch from the outside in the early going this year.

Hafer was 10-for-12, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, for 25 points in the opener and she had 15 points, including 2-of-3 shooting on threes, in Mansfield's next game.

Mallory isn't alone in the strong start as her sister Meredith Hafer is starting her sophomore year well, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three point range, in Mansfield's last game. In the opener Meredith had three points, three assists, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Mansfield has also gotten strong play from Mallory Moore with back-to-back 14 point, eight-rebound efforts, and Tegan Atallah has 15 points and 12 rebounds in two games this year.

Julia Stevenson has 10 points in two games and started the year with an 11-rebound effort and Nicole Pender has scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists in the first two games.

WOMEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tioga graduate Jesse Robinson proved last year just how valuable she was for the Misericordia women's team, through three games this year she has stepped things up to another level.

Robinson has averaged 13 points a contest in the first three games, including two 15-point games. She has also been an all-around player, grabbing 17 rebounds, with eight steals and seven assists in just the first two games the team has played.

Robinson's 15-point effort Sunday helped the Cougars (1-2) get their first victory of the year.

MEN'S TEAM OF THE WEEK

Wyalusing graduate Trevor Woodruff has the Misericordia men's team off to a 3-0 start this year.

The Cougars opened the year with a win over Centennary and then they beat Baptist Bible in the 18th Annual Ramada Laurel Line Championship, before topping Marywood in the final of the event.

MEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The Mansfield men have played just one game this season, a win over Bowie State, but that's all Yuseff Carr has needed to prove he's one of the best players, at any level, in the region.

The junior forward Yuseff Carr was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Player of the Week for his effort in Mansfield's season opening 83-73 win over Bowie State.

Carr, 6-6, 284, scored 23 points in the win and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. He also added a game-high four steals while connecting on 10-of-15 of his attempts from the floor as well as 3-of-4 free attempts.

Carr was especially effective in the second half scoring 13 points and hitting 5-of-6 of shots. It was Carr's dunk with Mansfield leading by five points with 1:36 remaining that sealed the win for the Mountaineers.

Mansfield will host UDC on Nov. 24.

KYLE DOUGHERTY UPDATE

The Sayre resident, and Owego Free Academy graduate, had her best game of the season on Sunday afternoon for Division I Villanova, but it was also the first loss of the year by the Wildcats.

Dougherty played 26 minutes, scoring nine points, on three-for-four shooting from three-point range. She also had two assists and two rebounds for Villanova.

After a burst of steady three-point shooting in the first half, Villanova (2-1) struggled from the floor the rest of the way and was dealt its first loss of the season, 55-47, by Massachusetts (2-2) on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center. In a game that was evenly matched throughout, the Wildcats missed six of their last seven shots from the field and the host Minutewomen made seven free throws in the final 45 seconds to seal the outcome.

There were eight lead changes during the game and neither team ever led by more than the eight-point margin that Massachusetts finished the game with. Five of the lead changes came during the second half but Villanova fell behind for good with 6:26 remaining when a basket by the Minutewomen made the score 40-39. Less than four minutes later, a three-pointer by senior guard Tia Grant pulled the Wildcats to within 46-44 with 2:47 to play, but that was as close as Villanova would get down the stretch.

Villanova next plays in the Chattanooga Classic next weekend and will play against Evansville on Friday at 5 p.m. The next day, the Wildcats will play in either the consolation game (3 p.m.) or championship game (5 p.m.) against Kennesaw State or host Tennessee-Chattanooga.

RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT

Cornell's Lauren Benson set the school record for assists in a single game with 12 and Allie Fedorowicz racked up a game-high 24 points as the Cornell women's basketball team defeated Tennessee State, 92-73, in the consolation game of the Maggie Dixon Classic this weekend in Chicago, Ill. With the win, the Big Red evens its record at 2-2 on the season.

Playing in front of a substantial number of family and friends in her home state, Benson broke the school record for assists in a single game, which had been held by her and five other former Cornell players, and finished the night with 13 points for her first double-double of the season.

Fedorowicz shot lights-out in the game, connecting on an unbelievable 8-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. For her efforts on the weekend, Fedorowicz was named to the All-Tournament team. Virginia McMunigal chipped in 12 points, while Allie Munson and Taylor Flynn also scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Munson tallied a team-high six rebounds.

TOWERING OVER THE COMPETITION

Last year Cornell's Jeff Foote showed that he could be a force in the paint as the Big Red made a run to the NCAA Tournament.

This year Foote is trying to prove he's one of the best big men in the country.

The 7-footer from Spencer Van-Etten has averaged 11 points a game as the Big Red have begun the year 2-1. More importantly for Cornell is Foote's work on the glass where he has averaged 8.7 rebounds, and on defense, where he has eight blocked shots this year.

STRUGGLING TO FIND THE MARK

The Binghamton men cleared out a lot of players in the offseason. While the team has been competitive on the defensive end in the early going this year, they have struggled to find their mark on offense.

The Bearcats have scored 140 points in three games this season. After scoring 54 points in the opener, the Bearcats haven't broken 50 points in either of the past two games, netting just 40 in a loss to St. Bonaventure in their last game.

HIGH SCHOOL SEASON TO START SOON

High school practices began in Pennsyvlania on Friday and the first day for games on Dec. 11. In New York practices have been going on for a while and the season tips off on Dec. 1 when the Tioga girls host Newfield.

BULLDOGS COACH TO LEAD ALL-STARS

It was decided at the EBA owner's meeting that Dallas Comegys and James Schutz, the two coaches from the EBA's 2009 Championship game, will coach the 2010 EBA All-Star teams.

Dallas Comegys coached the Delaware Destroyers to the League Championship when his team defeated James Schutz' Elmira Bulldogs, 115-103, last March.

Comegys, now the coach of the NJ Lightning, will coach the 10 All-Stars selected from the Mid-Atlantic and Dominion divisions. Schutz will head the team from the Empire and Capital divisions.

The EBA All-Star Game will be played in the nation's capital, Washington, DC, on February 20, 2010. The site will be announced shortly.

Each head coach will be allowed to select the assistant coaches for the game. Schutz from the Bulldogs has selected Dennis Lee who has served as assistant coach through out the teams tenure in Elmira. Roger Hover, who served as an assistant coach the past two seasons in Elmira is still undecided on returning for a third season although Schutz has made it clear that he would make Hover his other assistant coach selection for the all-star game if he returns.

"I firmly believe that a head coach is only as good as the assistant coaches he surrounds him self with," stated Bulldogs head coach and general manager James R. Schutz. "Lee and Hover have played a huge part of this two year magical 23-6 run with back to back trips to the league championship game."

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If you have any notes of local athletes playing at any level, from youth up through the pros, or if you have any regional teams you would like to see highlighted, contact (570) 265-1631 or reviewsports@thedailyreview.com.

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