Men’s & Women’s Basketball

After having the weekend off, Clarion University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will be back in action Wednesday when they take the short trip southwest to face PSAC-West rival Slippery Rock. The women’s game starts at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m.

The Golden Eagle men enter their game against Slippery Rock with an 8-7 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the PSAC-West. Clarion is currently in fourth place in the PSAC-West a game back of third-place IUP and 1 ½ back of second-place California. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 70-46 win at home over Lock Haven last Wednesday that snapped a three-game losing streak for Clarion.

Slippery Rock comes into the game with a record of 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the PSAC-West. The Rock is tied for fifth in the conference with Lock Haven a game back of Clarion. Slippery Rock is coming off a 74-73 win at Shippensburg Saturday that marked only the second time in the past nine games that The Rock tasted victory.

Clarion enters the game with a well-balanced offense that features four starters averaging in double digits.

Senior guard Steve Serwatka is the leading scorer for Clarion averaging 18.4 ppg, while senior forward Allen Stevens is second on the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg). Junior guard Rollie Smith is adding 12.5 ppg and a team-high 4.8 apg. Senior forward Dale Thomas is the team’s leading rebounder averaging 7.9 rpg while chipping in with 11.3 ppg.

David Shearer, a senior forward, is adding 7.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg and became just the ninth player in school history to grab 700 career rebounds when he cleaned the glass 11 times against Lock Haven.

Other key contributors for Clarion include guards Terrance Stokes (4.5 ppg) and Derek Rankin (4.3 ppg) and forward Stephen Nesmith (2.4 ppg & 1.3 rpg).

Slippery Rock is also a well-balanced offensive team with four players averaging in double figures.

Dave Freeman is the leading scorer for The Rock averaging 12.2 ppg to go along with 5.9 rpg. Former Clarion guard Aaron Epps, who transferred to Slippery Rock following the 1999-2000 season, is adding 11.7 ppg, while Donteil Lewis is also scoring 11.7 ppg to go along with 6.6 rpg. Bryant Lewandowski chips in with 10.9 ppg and a team-high 44 assists, while Ben Zajac is the leading rebounder for Slippery Rock grabbling 7.6 rpg to go along with 7.7 ppg.

Clarion swept the season series from Slippery Rock last year winning 67-55 at Tippin Gym and 84-69 at Slippery Rock. Slippery Rock last beat Clarion 73-54 in the opening round of the 1999-2000 PSAC playoffs, but the Golden Eagles have won 16 straight regular-season meeting between the two teams dating back to the 1993-94 season. Slippery Rock’s last regular-season win came Feb. 24, 1993, when The Rock got an 87-80 win at home over Clarion. Clarion head coach Dr. Ron Righter has a career record of 20-7 vs. Slippery Rock..

Clarion’s women’s team enters the game Wednesday with a record of 9-8 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC-West. The Golden Eagles are currently in second place in the West 1 ½ games behind first-place California and a ½ game ahead of third-place Shippensburg. Clarion is coming off a 74-66 win at home against Lock Haven Wednesday. The Golden Eagles have won five of their past six games with the only loss coming Jan. 19 at IUP.

Slippery Rock enters the game with a record of 9-8 as well and a 2-2 mark in the PSAC-West. The Rock is currently in fourth place in the West a ½ game back of third-place Shippensburg and a one game behind Clarion. Slippery Rock is coming off a 65-53 loss at Shippensburg Saturday. It was only the fourth loss in the last 12 games for Slippery Rock who has gone 8-4 since starting the season 1-4.

Clarion enters the game led by its three post players on offense senior Christina Lantz, freshman Heather Cigich and junior Courtney Willman.

Lantz is the team’s leading scorer averaging 16.1 ppg while adding 8.0 rpg. She is tied with Cigich for the team lead in blocked shots with 10 while adding 29 steals.

Cigich, who has been named PSAC-West Rookie of the Week three times this season, is the team leader in rebounds with 9.4 rpg and is second in scoring with 12.8 ppg. Along with her 10 blocked shots she is second on the team with 29 steals.

Willman has been a force off the bench for the Golden Eagles averaging 9.1 ppg and 5.4 rpg.

Three guards have done a great job complimenting the post players for Clarion.

Junior Allison Stodart and senior Tiffany Taylor are both averaging 9.0 ppg. Stodart is also the team leader with 37 three-pointers and is shooting 37% (37-100) from behind the arc. She is adding 2.9 apg. Taylor, meanwhile, is leading the team with 3.4 apg while adding 3.1 rpg. Junior guard Tameka Washington is chipping in with 7.9 ppg and 3.7 rpg.

Sophomore guard Lindsay Kostorick is providing solid defensive help for Clarion and has a team-high 32 steals to go along with 2.6 ppg.

Slippery Rock is led by a balanced offense that shows three players scoring in double digits and two averaging 15.0 ppg or better.

Jackie Altenweg leads The Rock with 15.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while Shelbey Wardman is adding 15.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 4.3 apg. Stacey Green is chipping in with 11.6 ppg and a team-high 8.3 rpg.

The Rock is also getting contributions from Missy McKavish (8.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg & 3.2 apg) and Erin Frankovich (7.9 ppg & 5.6 rpg).

Last season Slippery Rock swept the season series from the Golden Eagles for the fourth straight year. The Rock won 75-56 at Clarion and 80-65 at Slippery Rock. Slippery Rock has won eight straight against Clarion with the Golden Eagles last win coming Feb. 12, 1997, at Slippery Rock. Clarion head coach Margaret "Gie" Parsons is 13-12 in her career against Slippery Rock.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES: Both games can be heard on WCUC-FM (91.7) and on the Internet at www.redzonemedia.com ... Parsons, who has a career record of 303-232, is seven wins shy of 200 in her Clarion career. Now in her 13^th season at Clarion, she is the winningest coach in Golden Eagle history with a mark of 193-159 (54.8%) ... Both of Clarion’s teams return to action Saturday at Shippensburg before returning home Monday to face California.