February 5, 2007

Monday, February 5, 2007

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Tues. 6 Women's Basketball (A) Mt. Vernon Nazarene University 5:30 pm

Men's Basketball (A) vs. Mt. Vernon Nazarene University 7:30 pm (900 AM WCER)

Fri. 9 Indoor Track (A) University of Findlay Invitational

Sat. 10 Women's Basketball (A) Ohio Dominican University 2 pm

Men's Basketball (A) Ohio Dominican 4 pm (900 AM WCER)

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs' (21-4, 12-2 AMC S) Streak Stops at 16/Battle Mt. Vernon for AMC South Lead on Tuesday

NAIA No. 2 (new ranking released 2/7) Walsh (21-4, 12-2 AMC S) split two American Mideast Conference South games, and had their 16-game winning streak snapped last week.  The Cavs defeated Tiffin University 63-50 at home on Tuesday, but lost 79-72 at Malone College in the 43rd Annual Mayor's Cup game on Saturday.  The loss to Malone dropped the Cavs into a first place tie with NAIA No. 12 Mount Vernon Nazarene University (20-4, 12-2 AMC S) in the AMC South, and cost them a chance to be the NAIA's top ranked D-II team in this Wednesday's poll.  It will not take long to see who takes over first place in the AMC South, as Walsh travels to Mount Vernon Nazarene on Tuesday at 7:30 pm.  Walsh then plays their second of three straight road games at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday (4 pm).  Both games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER, and on the Internet at www.wcer.us. 

Walsh extended its winning streak to 16 games (second longest in history), with a 63-50 win over visiting Tiffin University (3-18, 3-9 AMC S) on Tuesday.  Walsh led the entire first half, and by as many as 21 points at 34-13 with 3:10 to play, when the Dragons scored eight straight points to close the half.  Tiffin remained hot to start the second half, while Walsh went ice cold, as the Dragons went on a 15-3 run, to cut the Walsh lead to 37-36 with 14:16 to play.  The Cavs would regroup however, and out score the Dragons 12-2 over the next six minutes to push the lead back into double figures (49-38).  The lead would remain in double digits the remainder of the game.  Derek Chappell (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East) led all scorers with 17 points.  Chappell was a perfect 5-5 from the floor and 7-10 from the foul line.  Eder Araujo (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete de Freitas) added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Brandon Weems leads the AMC and NAIA in assists, with a 7.4 per game average. Corey Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game.  He is shooting .836 from the foul line, and .436 from three-point.  Eder Araujo is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, tops in the AMC.  Adam Lesch, Derek Chappell and Brandon Speck (Fr., Mansfield, OH/St. Peter's) are all among the AMC stat leaders.  Lesch is shooting .597 from the field, Chappell .585, and Speck .466 in three-point percentage.  The Cavs are 36-5 at home under Head Coach Jeff Young since the start of the 2004-05 season.  Young's overall mark is 76-23, with a .768 winning percentage, tops in Walsh history.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (5-17, 3-11 AMC S) Fall at Malone in Mayor's Cup

Walsh (5-17, 3-11 AMC S) fell twice last week, losing a pair of American Mideast Conference South games.  The Cavs lost at home to Tiffin University on Tuesday night, and then lost a heartbreaker in the 11th Annual Mayor's Cup game at Malone College on Saturday night. This week, Walsh plays two conference road games, at Mount Vernon Nazarene on Tuesday and at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday.

Walsh shot just .377 from the floor, in losing 64-54 to Tiffin University (11-11, 8-5 AMC S).  Walsh shot just .286 in the first half, in falling behind 40-21.  Walsh trailed by double digits the entire second half, as the Dragons led by as many as 21 points.  Walsh held the Dragons scoreless the final 3:21, and went on an 8-0 run to close the final margin to 10 points.  Ingrid Brainard (Sr., Madison, OH/HS) led all scorers with 24 points. 

Malone College (16-10, 8-6 AMC S) retired the Mayor's Cup with a 74-72 win over the Cavs.  Walsh shot a blistering .576 from the floor in the first half and led 43-39 at halftime.  The Cavs would then extend their lead to eight points (54-46) with 16:10 to play.  Walsh held the lead until the 5:07 mark, when Malone's Kellyn Murphy gave the Pioneers a 67-66 lead on a lay-up.  The Cavs would never lead again.  Walsh had a chance to tie, or win the game on their final possession, but turned the ball over.  They finished the game with 19 turnovers.  Ingrid Brainard led the Cavs with 21 points.  Brainard connected on 8-13 from the field.  Jessie Miller (R-Fr., Strasburg, OH/HS) and Eulise Dickerson (So., Warrensville Heights, OH/HS) each tallied 13 points.  Dickerson tied for rebound honors with nine.

Walsh meets Mount Vernon Nazarene (9-15, 2-12 AMC S) on Tuesday.  The Cavs won the first meeting, 74-69, at Walsh on November 28.  Jessie Miller paced the Cavs with 17 points.  The Cougars are coming off a 76-67 upset win over the University of Rio Grande on Saturday.  Walsh leads the all-time series 32-17.

Walsh travels to Columbus, for their second meeting with Ohio Dominican University (16-10, 10-4 AMC S) on Saturday.  The Panthers, tied for second place in the AMC South, crushed Wilberforce University 71-45 on Saturday  Despite 19 points from Ingrid Brainard, ODU won the first meeting, 79-67, at Walsh on January 6.  Walsh leads the all-time series 36-11.

Ingrid Brainard leads the Cavs in scoring (14.1) and is the only player in double figures.  Brainard, Walsh's all-time assist leader (479), has 86 assists on the season, and leads the team in steals (55) and free throw percentage (.845).  Brittani Maddox (R-Fr., Cleveland Heights, OH/HS) leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0 per game.  Eulise Dickerson is now the Cavs second leading scorer, averaging 7.4 points per game.  Walsh is holding the opposition to 66.8 points per game and to .414 shooting from the field.  

WOMEN'S TRACK: Cavs (16-4) Fourth at Mount Union Invitational