Full Game Notes

Albright College vs. Wilkes University
Thursday, January 5 at 7:00 p.m. in the Bollman Center

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Two of the Middle Atlantic Conference's youngest teams are set to square off tonight at 7 p.m. in the Bollman Center. Chances are the play of a freshman or sophomore will determine the winner tonight as the teams sport a combined 20 underclassmen.

Wilkes University (4-6, 0-2 Freedom Conference)

The Colonels are coached by Chris Heery, who holds a 4-6 record in his inaugural season at Wilkes. Prior to his current appointment, he served as an assistant at Muhlenberg College for six seasons under Ron Rohn. His last head coaching job was at Cedar Crest College.

Heery leads the MAC's greenest squad, with a total of just four upperclassman for the 2011 squad. One of the key returnees from last year's squad is junior guard Megan Kazmerski, who enters tonight's game averaging 12 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. Kazmerski has reached double figures in scoring five times this season, including a season-high 22 in a 76-56 win over Susquehanna. Kazmerski has also been a stalwart on defense, averaging 2.6 steals per contest. The five-foot, eight-inch guard is the leader on a squad with eight freshmen, including rookie guard Elena Stambone.

Stambone, a five-foot, eight-inch freshman, has become the Colonels second-leading scorer just behind Kazmerski with 11.8 ppg and 2.0 rpg. She is averaging 20.2 minutes per game coming off of the bench, and figures to get serious playing time against the Lions.

Junior Amanda Pawlowski (5.6 assists per game) and senior Whitney Connolly (9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds per game) captain the Colonels, and are the leaders inside the locker room as well.

Albright College (3-8 Overall, 0-2 Commonwealth Conference)

Albright is not much older, with 12 underclassmen on the roster and three freshman regularly starting for the Lady Lions. Janice Luck is in her 10th season with 103 wins under her belt, and in 2012 she is looking to her freshman to step up early in their careers sporting the red-and-white.

In the early going it has been the freshman making big impacts, but not without Jenny Knoebel, who is the lone senior starter in a transitional year for Albright. Knoebel has led the Lady Lions in scoring two times this season while averaging 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. She also is averaging 2.8 assists per game in running the offense, and has recorded 10 blocks on the defensive side of the ball, which leads the team.

Leading the team in scoring has been standout freshman guard Jessica Venturelli, who is averaging double figures in her rookie campaign with 10.5 points and 3 boards per contest. Venturelli, who stands at five-feet, eight-inches, has quietly become a leading candidate for MAC Rookie of the Year. Other freshman have thrown their hat in the mix for that award as well, particularly freshman Tara Sabotchik. Sabotchik has been prolific at times, running up and down the court and fueling the offense when it has needed a boost. She enters today's game averaging 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds as the energizer bunny for the offense.

Six-foot sophomore forward Meghan Boyle paces the team in rebounds with 8.6 per game to complement 8.8 points within the paint.

Keys to the Game

Tonight's game may be decided at the foul line as Albright is shooting 57 percent as a team, and Wilkes just slightly better at 62.8 percent. On the season, Albright enters averaging 58.2 points per game and Wilkes averages 67.6 points per contest. Coach Luck will need her squad to catch fire from beyond the arc to win, likely led by freshman sharpshooter Amanda Tiritilli. The rookie guard has appeared in all 11 games, including nine starts, and is shooting 40.5 percent from the 3-point line, which leads the team.