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RELEASE
DATE: 11/17/09
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: Mansfield women open 2009-10 season this weekend in Boston – Mansfield
takes on Fisher and University of Maine –Fort Kent at Fisher Classic
 MANSFIELD
– The Mansfield University women’s basketball team will open its 2009-10 season
this weekend at the Fisher Classic in Boston, MA.
The
Mountaineers will face host Fisher College on Friday evening before playing the
University of Maine at Fort Kent on Saturday afternoon. Both schools compete in
the NAIA. Fisher is 1-3 on the season while Fort Kent, the defending Sunrise
Conference Champion, is 1-0 on the year.
Becoming more
offensively productive will one of the top goals of head coach Ruth Hermansen as
she enters her 11th season at the helm of the Mountaineer program.
Mansfield
returns three starters, including last year’s freshman sensation Mallory
Moore (Beech Creek/Central Mountain), but with just three upperclassman
in graduate student Mallory Hafer (Sayre/Athens) along with
juniors Tegan Atallah (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) and
Nicole Pender (Elkins Park/Cheltenham), the Mountaineers will be very
young in 2009-10.
Moore, who led
the Mountaineers in scoring and rebounding, will be the centerpiece of the team
again this season after averaging 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds as a freshman
last season. Moore, who also topped the team in field goal percentage and was
second in steals, was a two-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week selection in
2008-09 and will be expected to be even more productive this year.
Pender will be
directing the offense this year after coming into her own as the starting point
guard last season. The steady Pender averaged 7.2 points per game along with
dishing out 56 assists in 2008-09 and is expected to increase her scoring this
season.
 Fellow
junior Tegan Atallah will play a larger role on this year’s squad after
appearing in 24 games including three starts last season. Atallah averaged 3.1
points per game as a sophomore and sported one of the best shooting percentages
on the team.
Mallory Hafer
is one of three Hafer sisters on the Mountaineers roster – all of them guards --
this season along with sophomore twins Meredith and Morgan
Hafer (Sayre/Athens). Mallory, hopes to recapture her shooting stroke
that led the PSAC in 3-pointers her sophomore season. Morgan will be sidelined
for the 2008-09 after suffering a preseason injury while Meredith appeared in 25
games, including eight starts, as a freshman last season averaging 1.6 points
per game.
Emma Lacey’s
(Catasauqua/Catasauqua) role should increase after appearing in 15
games and scoring 23 points as a freshman last year.
The
development of a talented freshmen class could be the difference maker for the
team’s success this year. Julia Stevenson (Jersey Shore/Jersey Shore)
will bring much needed depth in the post after averaging 15 points and 10
rebounds per game as a high school senior.
Kayla Espigh
(Lewistown/Lewistown)
is the younger sister of former Mountaineer standout Alicia Espigh and has
inherited her sister’s offensive prowess as a 1,000 point scorer in high school.
Victoria Lacey (Catasauqua/Catasauqua) is the younger sister of
teammate Emma Lacey and also brings plenty of offensive scoring power to
Mansfield after averaging 12.0 points with 4.9 assists during her senior year in
high school. Victoria also holds her high school career three-point record with
138.
Also vying for
time are freshman forward Sydnee Reeves (Cedar Lake, IN/Crown Point).
Mansfield will
be on the road for the first five games of the season before hosting Mercyhurst
on Dec. 7.
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