January 24, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (15-5, 8-1) Extend Win Streak to Eight/Take Over Sole Possession of First in AMC South

NAIA No. 18 Walsh (15-5, 8-1) swept two American Mideast Conference South games last week, to gain sole possession of first place.  Walsh bounced Ohio Dominican University 82-72 on Tuesday, snapped Daemen's 23-game home win streak with a 91-87 non-league win on Thursday and capped off the week with an upset of NAIA No. 5 Cedarville University at home, 82-68 on Saturday.  The Cavs have won eight straight games, their longest winning streak since the 1997-98 season, when they opened the campaign with 13-straight victories.  The Cavs hit the road for two AMC South games this week, Tuesday at Urbana University (5-15, 4-4) and Saturday at Wilberforce University (5-17, 1-9).  The Cavs are 3-0 on the road in AMC South play.  Both games will be aired live on 900 AM WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

The Cavs rallied for its seventh straight win, 91-87 at Daemen College on Thursday.  The loss was the first for Daemen (13-7) on their home floor in 24 games.  Walsh trailed 50-45 at the half, despite shooting .704 (19-27) from the field in the first 20 minutes.  The Cavs turned the ball over 15 times in the first half and trailed by as many as 12 points twice.  Corey Jones (Fr., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) scored 15 first half points, shooting 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from three-point to keep the Cavs within five points at the break.  Walsh rallied and took its first lead of the second half at 58-57, on a Randy Sistrunk (Sr., Canton, OH/McKinley) jumper with 16:23 to play.  The game was tied six times the rest of the way, with Daemen holding its final lead at 82-81 with 1:36 to play.  Walsh took the lead for good at 83-82 on a Rob Whaley (Sr., Benton Harbor, MI/HS) jumper with 1:17 to play.  Brandon Weems (Fr., Akron, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) then came up with a steal and basket, to extend the Cavs lead to 85-82 with 59 seconds left.  Walsh continued its amazing shooting, shooting .704 from the field in the first half, .548 in the second half and .621 for the game.  Whaley led the Cavs with 21 points in only 26 minutes.  Sistrunk added 20 points and seven rebounds.  Jones added 19 points, shooting 8-9 from the field and 3-4 from three-point.  Weems scored 11 points off the bench.  The Cavs out rebounded Daemen 41-21.

Walsh won its fourth game against NAIA ranked teams, when they toppled AMC South co-leader Cedarville University, 82-68, at Physical Education Center on Saturday.  The win was the eighth straight for the Cavs and snapped a five-game losing streak against the Yellow Jackets.  Walsh led by as many as eight points in the first half, but led only 41-38 at the half.  Cedarville battled back late in the half and held their last lead at 35-33 with 2:34 to play in the half.  The second half was all Walsh, as they took two leads of 15 points (59-44, 76-61) in coasting to the win.  Rob Whaley paced the Cavs with a season high 29 points.  Randy Sistrunk added 13 points, Brandon Weems 12 and Jason Hicks 11.  Walsh shot .492 from field and held the Yellow Jackets to .422.

Walsh and Urbana meet for the second time this season on Tuesday.  The Cavs won the first meeting, 78-73, on December 12 at Walsh.  Urbana has won two straight games, but has not played since last Tuesday.  Their game at Malone was postponed on Saturday due to the weather.  The Blue Knights have played only seven home games and stand 4-3, but are 3-0 in AMC South play at home.  Walsh leads the all-time series 43-29.

The Cavs travel to Wilberforce on Saturday.  Walsh won the first meeting 85-68, at Walsh on January 8.  The Bulldogs begin the week on a two-game losing streak.  They were bested 55-49 by Shawnee State on Saturday.  Wilberforce has a busy week, hosting Tiffin University on Tuesday and traveling to archrival Central State University on Thursday.  Walsh leads the all-time series 9-3.

The Cavs have received numerous outstanding efforts during their current eight-game win streak.  During the last four games,  Corey Jones has connected on 15-20 from three-point range.  Jones leads the team with 56 three's and is shooting .415 from behind the arc.  He is averaging 12.9 points.  Randy Sistrunk has shot at least .500 percent (39-65) from the field in each of the last five games.  Sistrunk is second in scoring (13.8 points) and leads the team in rebounding (8.0 per game). In Walsh's win road at Rio Grande on January 15, he scored his 1,000-career point.  Sistrunk has totaled 1,045 points, with 736 of those coming in a Cavalier uniform.  He spent his first two years at the College of Wooster.  University of Cincinnati transfer Rob Whaley, who scored a season-high 29 points in the Cedarville win, is averaging a team best 17.5 points.  Whaley hit on 28-47 field goals last week, including 12-18 in the Cedarville game.  Whaley has also made an impact on the defensive end, leading the team with 47 blocks.  The backcourt is quickly becoming one of the finest in the AMC.  Starting point guard Jason Hicks (So., Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) is averaging 9.3 points and has a team leading 65 assists and only 52 turnovers in 30.2 minutes each game.  Freshman back up, Brandon Weems, is averaging 24.2 minutes per game and putting up outstanding numbers.  Weems is now averaging 6.4 points, with 49 assists and only 22 turnovers.  Weems has also improved his three-point percentage to .410 on 25-61 from behind the arc. 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (10-9, 4-5) Score Big, But Split Two AMC Games

Walsh (10-9, 4-5) averaged 90.0 per game, but split two American Mideast Conference South games last week.  The Cavs downed Ohio Dominican University 88-79, but lost to NAIA No. 2 and AMC South leader, Cedarville University 101-92 on Saturday.  The Cavs are home this Thursday (6 pm) to Urbana University (9-11, 4-4) and at Wilberforce University (8-8, 4-5) on Saturday (4 pm).  Both are AMC South games.

Dionna Hammett (Jr., Warrensville Hts., OH/St. Peter Chanel) scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in Walsh's 88-79 win over Ohio Dominican University.  Walsh led 42-40 at the half and held off numerous ODU charges in the final 20 minutes.  Hammett connected on 12-19 from the field and 5-6 from the foul line.  The Cavs also received a big night from junior guard Beth Sternberg (East Canton, OH/HS), who poured in 20 points on 3-6 from three-point and a perfect 11-11 from the foul line.  Jessy Fye (Sr., Canton ,OH/Perry) and LeAnne Ware (Jr., Alliance, OH/Marlington) each scored 10 points.  Walsh crashed the boards, out rebounding the Panthers 60-34. 

Walsh put up a valiant effort, before falling 101-92 to Cedarville University (21-1, 9-0).  Walsh played a fine first half, and led by as many six points (37-31) with 5:52 to play.  Cedarville then closed the half with a 20-11 run, to lead 51-48 at the intermission.  Walsh would lead just once more in the second half, 61-60, with 14:24 to play.  Cedarville lead by ten points, when Walsh made one final run to cut the lead to 80-78 with 5:58 to play, but they would get no closer.  Walsh's Dionna Hammett led all scorers with 26 points.  She also grabbed 13 rebounds.  LeAnne Ware added 21 points on 7-14 from the field and 5-10 from three-point.  Jessy Fye grabbed 13 rebounds. 

The Cavs and Urbana meet for the second time on Thursday.  Urbana won the first meeting, 79-52, at Urbana on December 11.  The Blue Knights have won their last two games, but were postponed at Malone on Saturday.   They play at Wilberforce on Tuesday.  Walsh leads the all-time series with Urbana, 21-13.  Walsh and Wilberforce tangle for the second time on Saturday.  The Cavs edged the Bulldogs 78-71 at Walsh on January 8.  Walsh leads the all-time series 8-2.  Wilberforce has lost two straight games, including a 78-63 decision to Shawnee State on Saturday.  The Bulldogs host Urbana on Tuesday and play at Central State on Thursday.

Dionna Hammett is putting together one of the finest season's to date for the Cavs.  The Lorain Community College transfer is averaging 15.2 points, shooting .525 from the field and averaging 10.4 rebounds, to lead the team in all three categories.  She posted two more double-doubles last week, averaging 27.5 points and 16.5 rebounds.  Dionna has recorded 10 double-doubles for the season. 

FOOTBALL: Five Cavaliers Earn All-Mid-States Football Association All-Academics

Walsh University has placed five student-athletes on the Mid-States Football Association All-Academic Team.  Matt Beebe (OLB, Sr., Perry Township, OPH/Perry), Bob Graham (OL, Sr., Akron, OH/Akron Garfield), Dan Kane (QB, Jr., Bolivar, OH/Tusky Valley), Adam Letera (L, Jr.. Stow, OH/HS) and Mike Norris (DL, Sr., Louisville, OH/HS) were selected.

Beebe fashioned a 3.45 grade point average on a 4.00 scale, and majors in early childhood education.  Graham is also an early childhood education major and has a 3.32 GPA.  Kane, who also earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition, carries a 3.86 GPA and is a management/philosophy major.  Letera is a business major and carries a 3.29 GPA and Norris is a middle childhood education major and carries a 3.40 GPA.

SYNCHRONIZWED SWIMMING: Dent Returns, Walsh Opens Season With Ohio State and Canisius

Walsh opens new season this Saturday at 12 noon at the Northeast Community Center, against the Ohio State University and Canisius College.  The meet also marks the return of Head Coach Dee Dent to poolside for the Cavaliers.  Dee, who initiated the program at Walsh, returns after a two-year absence.

Walsh returns five letter winners from 2004.  Returning are Megan Brandon (Sr., Surrey BC, Canada/East Marriott), Beverlyann Burson (Sr., Houma, LA/Houma Christian), Annika Castle (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Lake Braddock), Kristen Mueller (Jr., Mentor, OH/HS) and Jennifer Valesak (Sr., Canton, OH/GlenOak).  New to the squad are Christa Hess (Fr., Westlake, OH/Magnificat) and Chelsea Jarrell (Sr., Mansfield, OH/Sr.)