| MILLERSVILLE VS. PITT-JOHNSTOWN |
|---|
 | Millersville Marauders
2014-15 Record: 10-4, 7-2 PSAC
Coach: Mary Fleig, 25th season
Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
 | Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats
2014-15 Record: 8-5, 5-4 PSAC
Coach: Mike Drahos, 2nd season
Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
 | Game Information
Date: Januray 7, 2015 | Start Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Johnstown, Pa. | Sports Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Twitter | #HoistTheColors
Series vs. Pitt-Johnstown
UPJ leads 14-7
Series Streak: UPJ, 5
First Meeting: 1980-81 (L, 66-69)
Last Meeting: 2006 (L, 47-64)
Last 10: 4-6
Mary Fleig vs. UPJ: 6-11
Mike Drahos vs. Millersville: 0-0 |
Complete Game Notes (.PDF)GAME OVERVIEW• On the night of Nov. 30, the Millersville women's basketball team had just lost by 31 to then No. 25 Adelphi, had dropped three of its last four and was looking at a .500 record of 3-3. Oh, how things have changed. The Marauders have since won seven of eight to improve to 10-4 overall and 7-2 in the PSAC with an unblemished home mark of 7-0. During that eight-game span, Millersville has outscored its opponents by over 15 points per game. Also during that stretch, not a single one of those eight opponents has shot over 40 percent from the field and two of them were held below 19 percent shooting in back-to-back games (Goldey-Beacom/Gannon). Because of those defensive efforts, the Black and Gold are second in the PSAC in scoring defense (58.6), first in field goal percentage defense (34.8 percent) and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage defense (30 percent).
• In the past three games,
Carly Gallagher averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. That effort earned her a second PSAC East Athlete of the Week honor of the season on Monday after she first received the honor back on Dec. 8. On the season, she is averaging 16.2 points per contest, which is currently good for sixth in the conference and she is posting the best scoring numbers of her career with that average. Her 227 total points are also ranked third in the league.
• There have been 21 all-time meetings between Millersville and Pitt-Johnstown with UPJ leading the series 14-7. However, they haven't faced each other since 2006. This will mark the first meeting between the two teams as PSAC foes as the Mountain Cats joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season. Pitt-Johnstown has taken five straight against the Marauders so Millersville hasn't seen a win against UPJ since 2002. During that five-game span, the Mountain Cats are outscoring the Marauders by over 11 points per game.
• Yasmin Cooper continues to flourish in the post for Millersville. In two of the past three games and four of the last seven, Cooper has brought down at least 10 rebounds and she also has three double doubles so far in 2014-15. The most recent of those came on Saturday against Gannon when she tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Newark, N.J., native now has 12 double doubles so far in her career.
• Alex Stam has stepped into a starting role with starts in the last seven games for the Marauders. Those are the first seven starts of her career but she hasn't been playing like it. In five of those seven, she has made at least two 3-pointers and she is averaging over six points per contest as a starter. Entering this season, her scoring average was just 2.3 points per game. Stam has converted on 39.6 percent (21-of-53) of her 3-point looks this season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT• Mike Drahos is in his second season at the helm for Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball and already has his program making great strides in the right direction. Last season, the Mountain Cats finished with 10 wins and they already have eight so far in 2014-15. Drahos is no stranger to winning as he helped lead the West Liberty Hilltoppers to a 107-47 overall record in five seasons as an assistant prior to moving to Johnstown, Pa. During that span, West Liberty earned two NCAA national tournament berths. He also played a very important role in coaching and recruiting eight all-conference honorees, two conference Player of the Year award winners, a conference Freshman of the Year, an NCAA Woman of the year runner up, a Region Player of the Year winner, and a First-Team All-American.
• This season, Pitt-Johnstown has been led by one of the top scorers not only in the PSAC but in the nation as well. Jasmine Harper is second in the league and 47th among Division II scorers with 18.4 points per game. She is also 27th in the country in double doubles with six and 50th in field goal percentage with a clip of 52.5 percent. The Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native has scored at least 20 points five times this season including a season-high of 29 in each of the team's first two games. Harper is also the team's top rebounder with 9.8 boards per game, which is good for fourth in the league. Behind the 6-0 junior, three more scorers are averaging double figures for the Mountain Cats including Kelsey Sleighter (15.2), Nicole Carman (12.4) and Kayla DeCriscio (10.0).
• As a team, Pitt-Johnstown is top 10 in the nation in assists per game, scoring offense and 3-point field goals made per game. The Mountain Cats average 18 helpers per contest (10th), 82.2 points per game (ninth) and 10.2 triples made per contest (third). This team is 6-1 when it scores at least 80 points and 3-1 when it gets 90 or more. However, it is just 2-4 when held below 80 points. Millersville has given up at least 80 points only twice this season but lost both of those contests.
