Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Wilkes (3-8, 0-2) vs. Manhattanville (7-5, 1-1)
Saturday, January 8, 2011 / 1:00 p.m.
Marts Center / Wilkes-Barre, PA

LIVE STATS
GoWilkesU.com

LIVE AUDIO
ESPNWilliamsport.com

AT A GLANCE
The Lady Colonels look to get back in win column this weekend as they host Manhattanville on Saturday at the Marts Center. The Valiants have swept the season series with WU each of the past three seasons, including 71-61 and 79-47 wins last season.

LAST TIME OUT
WU found themselves down by 16 points with 3:15 remaining in the second half before putting together a 13-0 run but eventually falling to Albright 66-61 on Wednesday night.

The game stayed tight in the first half as Albright kept its lead between 3-7 points the entire 20 minutes. A late layup by So. G Megan Kazmerski (Kingston, PA/Holy Redeemer) got the Lady Colonels to within 30-27 at the half. WU then went up by a point with less than two minutes into the second half before Albright built a 16-0 point lead over the next 15 minutes. The Lady Colonels then reeled off 13 straight points, led by Sr. G Sam Lynam (Spinnerstown/Quakertown)'s 6, before eventually falling late by five points.

Lynam finished with a game-high 20 points while Jr. G Whitney Connolly (Liberty, PA/Liberty) poured in career-highs with 17 points and 9 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and 2 steals for WU.

BIG TIME SCORER
Sr. G Sam Lynam (Spinnerstown/Quakertown) tops the Freedom Conference in scoring with 20.6 ppg so far this season. She's hit 30 points on two different ocassions, including a season-high 32 points in the Lady Colonels comeback win over Susquehanna.

Averaging just 27.8 mpg, Lynam leads WU with a 41.8 FG% (64-153) and an 82.2 FT% (37-45).

HITTING DOUBLE-FIGURES
Lynam has scored in double-figures 40 times in 65 career games at WU, including all nine games that she's played in this season. She's scored at least 20 points in her career nine times, including three 30-point performances, with a career-high of 33 points coming against Arcadia as a sophomore.

DOUBLING HER EFFORTS
Averaging a career-high 20.6 ppg this season, Lynam is scoring more than twice as much as her career average of 10.2 ppg. She is also just 242 points shy of 1,000 for her career with 14 games remaining in the regular season.

Helping her scoring totals rise has been an increase in her shooting efficiency. Coming into this season, Lynam had a 33.9 FG% and a 24.7 3FG%. So far this year, she's converting 41.8 pct of her FGs and 36.4 pct of her 3FGs. Her FT% has remained constant throughout her career, as she's converting 82.5%.

Lynam's 27.8 mpg so far this season is also a career-high, besting her 21.2 mpg as a sophomore.

FINDING HER GROOVE
After averaging just 6.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg over the season's first four games, So. G Megan Kazmerski (Kingston, PA/Holy Redeemer) has stepped up her game, averaging 10.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg over the past seven. As a freshman last season, she led WU with 11.5 ppg.

Reaching double-figures in scoring in five of the past seven games, she netted a season-high 18 points on 7-14 FGs against Susquehanna. She also grabbed 14 boards against the Crusaders, getting her 1st double-double of the season and 4th of her career.

So far this season Kazmerski leads WU with 6.4 rpg, is 2nd with 9.2 ppg, 3rd with 30.4 mpg and has 16 assists and 3 blocks.

PICKING PASSES
In addition to scoring and rebounding, Kazmerski tops the Lady Colonels in steals, totaling 23 so far this season. Her 2.1 spg is t-12th in the conference, as she has 2+ swipes in eight games this year.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
After scoring 5.3 ppg last year, Jr. G Whitney Connolly (Liberty, PA/Liberty) has started to improve her offensive game, hitting double-figures in scoring five times this year, including four of the past six games. Against Albright, she set a new career-high with 17 points on 6-9 FGs, hitting 5-7 from the line.

Over the past six games, Connolly is averaging 11.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg while hitting 28-34 FTs and dishing out 14 assists. Against Baptist Bible, Connolly went 5-8 from the floor and scored 12 points, getting 8 points and 8 rebounds the following game against Susquehanna and 14 points and 6 rebounds against TCNJ on Dec. 11.

Through 11 games, Connolly is 2nd on the team with 22 assists, 3rd with 9.1 ppg and 4th with 4.8 rpg.

RUNNING THE POINT
Adding more scoring to her game this year is So. G Amanda Pawlowski (Nanticoke, PA/Holy Redeemer), who averaged 7.3 ppg during her first six games after scoring 4.0 ppg last season. Although she's scored just 13 points over the last four games, Pawlowski leads the team with 25 assists and is averaging a team-high 32.6 mpg.

She's hit double-figures twice this season, scoring 12 against Baptist Bible and MIT, combining for a 57.1 FG% (8-14).

Pawlowski had her best game of the season against Baptist Bible, going 3-4 from the field and 5-7 from the line, adding 5 boards and 3 assists.

ALL-AROUND THREAT
One of the most versitile players for the Lady Colonels, Sr. G Brittany Ely (Montrose/Montrose) is 2nd on the team with 5.8 rpg and has 14 steals while scoring 4.1 ppg and dishing out 15 assists.

Ely posted her 2nd career double-double against Western New England with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, adding 3 steals and 2 assists for WU.

She's grabbed at least 6 rebounds in six games this year and has a team-leading 19 offensive boards.

STEPPING UP
Stepping into a more full-time role this year, Sr. G Erin Schneider (Colchester, CT/Holy Name) has produced, ranking 4th on the team with 7.3 ppg while dishing out 18 assists. She's 10th in the Freedom Conference with 1.4 made 3's per game, totaling 15 on the season.

Schneider has hit double-figures in scoring twice this season, getting a season-high 17 against MIT, going 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from 3 in 30 minutes. She also scored 10 points on 4-7 FGs against TCNJ, hitting 2-3 of her 3-point attempts.

PROVIDING A SPARK
So. G Angela Palmerio (Telford, PA/Lansdale Catholic) has given the Lady Colonels an energy off the bench, scoring 4.5 ppg and grabbing 2.8 rpg. She has proven she can score, netting a career-high 13 points in just 24 minutes against Western New England and has a 41.5 FG% (17-41) and a 37.5 3FG% (6-16).

She also also given the Lady Colonels a rebounding presence, getting at least 4 boards in five games, including 7 in 22 minutes against PSU Hazleton. In her first start of the season, Palmerio had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals against Marywood.

OFF THE BENCH
So. F Sam Rohn (Levittown/Neshaminy) and Fr. G Helen Lawry (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills - Ballston Lake) have given the Lady Colonels extra minutes off the bench this year, as Rohn averages 11.7 mpg and Lawry 18.3 mpg.

After averaging 1.8 rpg in her first four games played, Rohn picked it up, grabbing 3.2 rpg in 11.8 mpg over the next five games.

Playing in eight games this season, Lawry's minutes have been steady, notching a season-high 23 against TCNJ. She's averaging 2.3 rpg from her guard position, including 5 boards in the comeback win over Susquehanna. She also added 5 points in 19 minutes against the Crusaders.

FROM THE FOUL LINE
Lynam leads the the team with an 82.2 FT%, going 37-45 from the charity stripe. She's gone to the line in all nine games that she's played, and has converted at least 5 free throws five times.

Connolly is 2nd on the Lady Colonels with an 81.0 FT%, going 26-31 over her last four games. She's converted 34-42 from the line this season, including an 8-8 performance against Susquehanna.

As a team, the Lady Colonels are shooting 65.9%, hitting 137-208. Over the last four games, WU has converted 56-78 from the line, a pct. of 71.8.

THE CAPTAINS
The Lady Colonels are captained by the trio of Ely, Schneider and Connolly, the only junior of the group.

Ely brings her all-around game back to the Lady Colonels for her final season, as she has 63 games and 54 starts under her belt. Starting 20 of 25 games a season ago, she was 3rd on the team in minutes with 27.0 mpg.

Schneider, the 2nd senior captain, is also one of the most experienced Lady Colonels. Playing in 61 career games, she has logged nearly 1,000 minutes on the court for Wilkes.

The lone junior for the Lady Colonels, Connolly has played in 49 games at Wilkes, getting 23 starts a season ago, averaging 27.4 mpg.