CLARION (14-11 OVERALL, 6-5 PSAC-WEST) AT SHIPPENSBURG (17-9, 7-4)
PSAC-WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004; 1 p.m. WHERE: Shippensburg, Pa. Heiges, Field House
LAST 10 GAMES: Clarion is 6-4; Shippensburg is 6-4
LAST GAMES: Clarion beat Edinboro 78-62; Ship lost to IUP 68-65 Wednesday
NEXT GAMES: Both teams are in the PSAC Playoffs Tuesday with opponents TBA
CLARION-SHIPPENSBURG LAST 10 GAMES: Shippensburg leads 8-2
LAST CLARION WIN AT SHIPPENSBURG: Feb. 3, 1996 – Clarion 85, Shippensburg 84
THIS SEASON: Shippensburg beat Clarion 66-62 Jan. 31 at Clarion – See attached box score
RECENT SERIES HISTORY: The teams have split the series the last two years, but prior to that Shippensburg had swept the series five straight times and had won 10 in a row and 11 of 12 from the Golden Eagles … Last season’s 78-75 Clarion win at home might go down as the greatest comeback in school history … Clarion trailed by 29 points in the first half and by 28 with 19 minutes to play before going on runs of 22-0 and 19-6 to get the win … But Shippensburg got even with Clarion in the last game of the season a year by getting an 82-68 win that put the Lady Raiders in the playoffs and knocked the Golden Eagles from the postseason.
WHAT’S AT STAKE THIS SEASON: Both Shippensburg and Clarion are in the PSAC Playoffs this year, but the game has seeding implications for both teams … Clarion will be the No. 3 seed with a win or the No. 4 seed with a loss … Ship is the No. 2 seed with a win or an Edinboro loss at California or the No. 4 seed with a loss and an Edinboro win at Cal.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES: With a 78-62 win over Edinboro Wednesday, Clarion locked up a PSAC-West playoff berth for the second time in the past three seasons … It is the Golden Eagles 8th PSAC-West playoff appearance since 1991 … Clarion won PSAC titles in 1991, 1993 and 1994 … The win over Edinboro was head coach Gie Parsons 225 at Clarion … She is 225-189 and is the winningest coach in school history … It was also Parsons 335th career win … Clarion has won four straight for the first time this season … Defense has been the key to the streak with Clarion allowing just 51.3 ppg in the four-game stretch … Junior forwards Heather Cigich & Shay Godwin have played key roles during the streak … Cigich is avg. 23.3 ppg, 17.3 rpg, 3.5 spg, 2.5 apg and 1.8 bpg in the four games, while Godwin is avg. 19.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 2.5 spg.
CIGICH, GODWIN FIRST TO SCORE 30 APIECE IN SAME GAME AT CLARION: When Heather Cigich scored 31 points and Shay Godwin scored 30 in Clarion’s win over Edinboro Wednesday it marked the first time in school history that two players scored 30 points each in the same game … Cigich added 17 rebounds and Godwin nine in the win … Cigich has now scored 30 or more points in a game five times in her career, which is the second most games of 30 or more points by any player in school history … Mona Gafney recorded 30 or more eight times in her career … The 30 points were a career-high for Godwin.
CIGICH INKING HER NAME IN CLARION RECORD BOOK: Cigich continues to pen her name in Clarion career and single-season record book .. Her 1,321 career points ranks 5th in school history, while her 16.9 ppg would stand as a school record if her career ended today … Her 832 rebounds ranks fourth all time and she needs six to move into a tie with Leatha Dudeck for third … Cigich’s 183 career steals ranks 7th all-time and her 59 blocks ranks 3rd in school history … Cigich’s current season is also writing its way into the record books … Her 507 career points ranks 6th all-time and she needs 17 points to move into a tie for 5th and 19 to move into a tie for 4th … Shannon Coakley sits in both spots … Cigich’s 310 rebounds this year ranks 6th all-time in a season and she needs seven more for 5th, 8 more for 4th and 10 for 3rd. Her 12.4 rpg average this season is just .1 rpg off the school record 12.5 set by Lisa Zitalone.