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Women's 2007-08 Basketball Recaps
(Scroll down for recaps of each game)
Finishing one of the most storied athletic careers in the history of Albany College of Pharmacy, Sarah Gruber went out on top as the Panthers defeated Briarcliffe College by a score of 78-65 on Sunday afternoon in Albany.
Gruber, honored before the game for her contributions to ACP athletics, finished with six points and a season-high seven assists as the Panthers shot a sizzling 10-20 from three-point land to claim their ninth win in ten games to finish the 2007-08 season.
"I think the energy of a good crowd, coupled with it being Sarah's last game helped give the team a boost from the start," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "This was a great day for Sarah and the ACP women's basketball program."
Pam Leonardi scored a season-high 25 points to lead ACP to the victory. Amber Jillson and Cassie White each had 14 points, while Kelly VanValkenburgh had 13. VanValkenburgh hit a running three-point basket at the halftime buzzer to give ACP a 14-point lead at the break.
Jillson, White and VanValkenburgh each had eight rebounds for the Panthers.
Facing the most difficult schedule in the history of the women's basketball program (13 Division III teams), the team finished with 17 wins (including seven against Division III opponents) as they will begin play in the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference next season.
Despite double-doubles for two starters, the Albany College of Pharmacy women's basketball team dropped a tough 63-55 decision at SUNYIT on Thursday night. Cassie White led ACP with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Pam Leonardi had 12 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Jen Vergis scored a career-high 30 poiints for the Wildcats.
"We never really got on track offensively (2-18 from three-point land)," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We did some really good things, but just didn't make enough plays down the stretch. Give SUNYIT credit, they made their free throws and executed well the last few minutes of the game."
In the team's first loss in nine games, Kelly VanValkenburgh finished one rebound short of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who shot only 31% from the field.
Pam Leonardi grabbed 20 rebounds, to go along with 14 points, to lead ACP to a 56-43 road victory over Bay Path College on Sunday afternoon. Kelly VanValkenburgh poured in 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds as ACP recorded its eight straight victory.
Leonardi's impressive rebounding total was not even a season-high, as she pulled down 23 rebounds in a win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in December.
The Panthers started out slow, converting only 28% from the field in the first half, and after a VanValkenburgh three-point shot with two seconds remaining in the half, ACP held a 22-18 lead.
ACP picked up the pace in the second half, shooting 46% from the field, as Leonardi and VanValkenburgh each scored 10 points in the second half.
Cassie White came up just short of a double-double for the second straight game, as she scored nine points and had nine rebounds.
The ACP women's basketball team continued its hot streak, easily defeating Southern Vermont College by a score of 82-60 in Bennington, Vt on Thursday night. Kelly VanValkenburgh again led the Panthers in scoring, as she poured in 25 points and also added six rebounds and five assists.
Sarah Gruber scored a season-high 15 points, while Pam Leonardi added 11, and Cassie White finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
With ACP holding a 21-15 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half, Amber Jillson hit two free throws and then a three-pointer to start a big ACP run to extend the lead to 43-23 at halftime.
The win over Southern Vermont marks the fifth win over an NCAA Division III team in the 2007-08 season.
In one of the most impressive victories in recent memory for the ACP women's basketball program, the Panthers defeated Hartwick College by a score of 71-58 on Tuesday night. Kelly VanValkenburgh led ACP with 22 points, while Pam Leonardi had 20 points as ACP built up a 31 point lead (51-20) early in the second half to coast to the victory.
VanValkenburgh and Leonardi each had eight rebounds while Cassie White had seven points and seven rebounds for the Panthers.
Samantha Galm had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Hartwick.
ACP jumped all over the visitors right from the start, only nine minutes into the game, the score was 27-4.
"We came out very strong and hit a bunch of jump shots to build up a nice lead," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "This is a real nice victory for our program to beat a quality Division III team from a strong conference (Empire 8)."
Hartwick made a run in the second half, even cutting the lead to 10 points in the final minutes, but ACP held on to the victory.
Kelly VanValkenburgh led ACP with 18 points (11 in the first half), to lead the Panthers to a 73-36 victory over New Hampshire Technical Institute on Super Bowl Sunday. Pam Leonardi had 14 points, while Erin Gibbs added 11 as ACP recorded its fifth straight victory.
"After a good win at Green Mountain, I wasn't sure how strong we would start the game today," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "But our offense was clicking from the start and we put the game away pretty early."
Nicole Izzo added seven points, all in the first half, to help ACP jump out to a 43-20 halftime advantage.
With a balanced scoring attack (four starters in double figures), the Albany College of Pharmacy women's basketball was able to come away with an impressive road victory over Green Mountain College by a score of 54-49.
Cassie White and Pam Leonardi each had 14 points to lead ACP to the win, a game which was tied at halftime. Amber Jillson, playing in front of a contingent of family and friends from her hometown of Whitehall, had 11 points and five assists, while Kelly VanValkenburgh had 10 points. The Panthers shot 50% (6-12) from three-point land to help build a cushion against the host team.
Emma Buckley had 12 points and 18 rebounds for Green Mountain.
View the highlights from Fox23 News: http://www.fox23news.com/sports/default.aspx?articleID=66678
ACP jumped all over the visitors from the Word of Life Bible Institute from the opening tip and coasted to a 92-29 victory. Richa Mehta had a career-high 16 points for the Panthers, while Laura Stachnik also had a career-high with 11 points.
Kelly VanValkenburgh and Erin Gibbs also finished with double figures in scoring, VanValkenburgh with 11 and Gibbs with 10 respectively.
Amanda Klaus led the Wolves with 13 points.
ACP travels to Vermont to face off against Green Mountain College on Saturday, before returning home on Super Bowl Sunday to host New Hampshire Technical College.
Facing off against one of their future conference rivals on Saturday night, the Panthers showed they will be a force to reckon with as they defeated St. Joseph's College (NY) by a score of 83-65.
In what Head Coach Scott Hildreth called "maybe our best performance of the season," the Panthers shot 14-30 from three-point land and 47% overall from the field as they easily handled the host Bears at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn.
Kelly VanValkenburgh was 6-9 from three-point land as she had a game-high 19 points while Pam Leonardi had 14 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. The Panthers outrebounded St. Joseph's 50-36.
Erin Gibbs and Cassie White each had 14 points, Amber Jillson had 12 points, while Sarah Gruber stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
In a rematch of the 2007 Northern Independence Conference championship, the ACP women's basketball team defeated Clinton Community College by a score of 73-62 on Wednesday night.
A night after battling SUNY-Cortland, the Panthers came out on fire from the field against Clinton as they jumped out to a 38-17 lead at halftime behind Kelly VanValkenburgh's 10 points and Pam Leonardi's nine points in the first half. Leonardi picked up the pace in the second half, finishing with a season-high 21 points while VanValkenburgh added 16 points.
Nicole Dirolf and Krissy Bullock each contributed 17 points for the Cougars.
With nine minutes remaining in the first half, the ACP women's basketball team held a commanding 29-13 lead over SUNY-Cortland, the #22 ranked Division III team in the country. An upset was brewing and the Panthers were starting to believe they could shock the Red Dragons, a perennial NCAA power.
Unfortunately, it was all Cortland from that point on, as they stormed back to tie the game at 36 at halftime. The second half continued with the Red Dragons using their inside strength to win going away, by a score of 86-57.
Kelly VanValkenburgh led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Pam Leonardi and Erin Gibbs each had 10 points for ACP. Amber Jillson had nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
Maggie Byrne had 20 points for SUNY-Cortland, while Sara Cavanaugh, the second leading scorer in Cortland's history, had 15.
"We played almost as well as we possibly can for most of the first half, but we just ran out of gas," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "The score doesn't indicate how tough we played one of the best Division III teams in the country."
After a long layoff, the ACP women's basketball team returned to its winning ways as they defeated UCONN Avery Point by a score of 66-40 on Sunday afternoon at the Albert M. White Gymnasium. Amber Jillson led the Panthers in scoring with 14, while Sarah Gruber, Pam Leonardi and Kelly VanValkenburgh each added 11 points.
In the first ever meeting between the two schools, ACP jumped out to a 33-22 lead at halftime, and the visitors never got closer than eight points in the second half as ACP pulled away for the victory.
"We got the rust off early in the game and had balanced scoring across the board," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We have a tough schedule the last few weeks of the season, so it was good to get a win at home today."
ACP returns to action on Tuesday night at home as they host perennial power SUNY-Cortland, currently ranked #24 in the NCAA Division III national poll.
In one of the most thrilling contests of the season, the ACP women's basketball team couldn't pull off the upset, as they dropped a 79-71 decision in overtime to Buffalo State on Saturday afternoon. All five starters for ACP scored in double figures, as the Panthers played one of their best games of the year, but it just wasn't enough. Kelly VanValkenburgh and Cassie White both had 16 points to lead the Panthers, while VanValkenburgh added eight rebounds and White pulled down seven.
In a game that saw the lead change 12 times, head coach Scott Hildreth saw a lot of good things from his team. "We were in a position to win with under a minute in regulation against a quality Division III team from a very good conference," he said. "It stings a little now, but my hopes are that it has showed us that we can compete with a team of this caliber, and that we can and should expect to win."
Toya Parks led all scorers with 26 points and Alyssa Kinney had 22 points and 12 rebounds, both for the Bengals.
Pam Leonardi and Erin Gibbs each had 14 points, and Amber Jillson had 10 points and seven assists for the Panthers, who were outrebounded by a margin of 48-31.
ACP ends the fall semester at home on Thursday against SUNY Cobleskill at 7:00 p.m..
After a thrilling road victory on Tuesday night against MCLA, the Panthers returned home and got a much easier win, defeating Adirondack Community College by a score of 70-28. Pam Leonardi and Cassie White led the team with 14 points each as ACP coasted to victory. Only five minutes into the game, ACP raced out to a 17-1 lead and never looked back.
"This could have been a trap game for us because we played a tough game on Tuesday and we have another one on Saturday (against Buffalo State)," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "But we didn't let that happen to us. We got off to a great start, which was important in a game like this."
Kelly VanValkenburgh and Leonardi each had three three-point baskets for the Panthers, while Judi Durkin led the visiting Timberwolves with 10 points.
The Albany College of Pharmacy women's basketball team received a career rebounding from Pam Leonardi and a clutch three pointer by Amber Jillson to claim a huge road victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Leonardi pulled down 23 rebounds, to go along with 10 points, as she helped the Panthers outrebound the Trailblazers by 17. With ACP up by one point, with less than a minute to play, Jillson hit the biggest shot of the night--a three-pointer to put ACP up by four points.
"Two great performances by two great leaders," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "I don't know if I've ever been around a game where a player has had 23 rebounds as Pam did tonight. It really was amazing. And Amber's shot was just as important. What a clutch shot that was."
Leonardi's rebounding total places her sixth in the single-game rebounding total in ACP history. Janet Korwan owns the record. She had 36 rebounds against the Junior College of Albany in 1980.
Kelly VanValkenburgh led the team with 13 points, including shooting 9 of 10 from the free throw line. The Panthers struggled offensively, shooting 23% from the field for the game.
One day after coming close to an upset against a tough Division III team in Clarkson, the Panthers were handled from the opening tip against St. Lawrence University, a perennial NCAA Division III tournament team, as the Panthers lost by a score of 85-30.
St. Lawrence prevented any Panther from having double figures in scoring, as Cassie White led ACP with nine points. Katie Palmer, the reigning Liberty League Player of the Year, scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Saints.
"St. Lawrence is just at a different level than us, they have some tremendous players," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We played hard, especially in the second half, but we had to come up and play almost a perfect game to beat that team."
Despite jumping out to a 16-2 lead to start the game, the Panthers tired at the end of the game and could not hold on to the lead. Pam Leonardi had a season-high 21 points, including 17 in the first half to help ACP storm out to a big lead. After taking a big lead, ACP was able to take an 11-point lead into halftime, and even led by 12 points, with under ten minutes to play in the game.
The Golden Knights kicked their defense into another gear, and was able to take advantage of Michelle Reddinger, their 6-foot-3-inch center, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds to help lead the comeback.
Down by five points with under 20 seconds to play, Sarah Gruber hit an off-balance three-point shot to pull ACP to within two points. After Clarkson missed a free throw, ACP had a chance to tie the game, but was unable to convert and Clarkson avoided the upset.
"We wore down a little at the end, and Clarkson picked up the intensity quite a bit," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "I'm really proud of our effort, and I think we showed today that we can compete with quality Division III teams."
For the second straight game, the ACP women's basketball team was able to come away with an easy victory, as they defeated Word of Life Bible Institute by a score of 87-25 on Wednesday night at the Albert M. White Gymnasium. Pam Leonardi led the team in scoring with 19 points, including four three-point baskets in the first half. Karrah Madden added 16 points.
Five Panthers were able to score double-figure points, as Kim Ray added a career-high of 12 points, Richa Mehta had 11 and Cassie White dropped in 10 points. Every member of the team was able to score at least three points. Sarah Young led WOLBI with 12 points.
"It was nice to have everyone contribute to the victory," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We certainly have a tough weekend coming up in the North Country (with Clarkson and St. Lawrence), so it was nice to get a win tonight."
Albany College of Pharmacy's women's basketball team came out strong in the second home game of the year against Davis College defeating them 86-25, led by second-year players Cassie White (who scored a game high 15 points) and Kelly VanValkenburgh (who scored 12 points).
ACP came out strong, taking a 53-12 lead into halftime. The first half's dominating performance was led by second-year players Karrah Madden and Kim Ray, who each had 10 first-half points. ACP played a complete game, dominating on both sides of the ball.
ACP hosts the Word of Life on Wednesday, November 28th at 5:00 p.m., followed by the Men's game at 7:00 p.m. at the Albert M. White Gymnasium.
In the consolation game of the Wingate Invitational at Messiah College, Albany College of Pharmacy defeated Penn State-Harrisburg by a score of 84-41. Kelly VanValkenburgh led the Panthers with 18 points, including four three-point baskets. ACP jumped out to a 43-24 lead at halftime.
Erin Gibbs had her second consecutive strong game, with 17 points and five assists. Gibbs was named to the all-tournament team.
"Everyone on our team contributed to this victory," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. " Erin continues to play well off the bench, and I thought Cassie White and Kim Ray played very well for us today."
Starting for an injured Karrah Madden, Cassie White scored 10 points, while Kim Ray scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds for the Panthers
Facing the number three ranked team in the nation for Division III, the Albany College of Pharmacy women's basketball team put up a fight, and even led midway through the first half. The depth and talent of Messiah College proved too much for ACP as the Panthers dropped an 80-40 decision in the first round of the Wingate Invitational at Messiah.
"I think we frustrated them with our tough defense for a while in the first half," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We held their All-American (Nikki Lobach) to five points, I think that's quite an accomplishment and says a lot for our defense."
Erin Gibbs came off the bench to score nine points for ACP. Messiah forced 21 ACP turnovers and pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Panthers by a score of 45-19.
In the first home game of the season for the Albany College of Pharmacy women's basketball team, it was a freshman, Erin Gibbs, who led the Panthers with 14 points to a 68-61 victory over the College of St. Joseph (VT). Pam Leonardi was not far behind with 13 points, including hitting seven of her eight free throws.
"We showed a lot of maturity and perseverance tonight and got some key performances off the bench, especially from Erin and Cassie White," said Head Coach Scott Hildreth. "We couldn't seem to pull away, but some of our veterans, specifically Sarah Gruber (eight points) with two big three-point shots, and Kelly VanValkenburgh (11 points) with some big steals, came up big at the end of the game."
Michelle Thompson had a game-high 19 points for the Fighting Saints.
The Panthers return to action on Friday when they travel to Pennsylvania to play Messiah College in the Messiah College Wingate Invitational. Messiah is currently ranked the number three team in the NCAA Division III poll. The other teams in the tournament are Pitt-Greensburg and Penn State University at Harrisburg.
Albany College of Pharmacy opened the 2007-08 season with a new coach but with the same success as in previous years. The Panthers defeated Hudson Valley Community College by a score of 57-44 in Troy on Thursday night. Kelly VanValkenburgh led the Panthers with 20 points, including four three-pointers, to lead ACP to the victory.
Hudson Valley went on a 22-9 run in the second half to cut a 41-22 deficit to 50-44 with 2:35 remaining in the game. However, Van Valkenburgh had three steals and five points over the final two minutes to seal the victory for the Panthers. Pam Leonardi added 13 points, including two three-point baskets, for ACP in Head Coach Scott Hildreth's debut.
"We came out to a good start and hit some shots to get an early lead," said Hildreth. "Overall, I'm happy with how we played in our first game of the season. We have some things to work on, but we are in good shape so far."
ACP hosts the College of St. Joseph on Tuesday at 5:00 PM at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in the home opener.
The annual women's Rita Leighton Alumni game was held on Saturday at Albany College of Pharmacy and the current team defeated the Alumni team by a score of 63-61. It was a back-and-forth game, but the current Panthers managed to pull out the victory in the end.
Randi Maurer '07, the all-time leading scorer in the history of ACP women's basketball, and Stefanie Alger '08 led the Alumni team with 13 points each. Jessica Maurer '06, Kelly Doan '94 and Mariette Sourial '10 also participated in the game for the Alumni team.
The first regular season game for the women's basketball team is on Thursday, November 8 as the Panthers face off against Hudson Valley Community College .