Tears were shed on the sidelines of Gwynedd-Mercy’s court after Cabrini’s Lady Cavs lost 48-60. Tuesday Feb. 22 concluded the Lady Cavs chance of advancing in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference playoffs. Players and coaches were proud to have made it to the first- round game.
In the second half of the game, Cabrini’s team did not give up. They were getting to the basket hard but lacked successful shooting. Until the last minutes of the game the Lady Cavs were still hustling to loose balls and grabbing rebounds off their teammates shots.
Prior to the playoff game Cabrini’s women only lost two of their last 14 games. They were on a six-game- winning streak and proved to have a lot of confidence on the court. Despite their final loss, the season shaped up to be a success with an overall record of 14-9, and 9-6 in the conference.
Going into the first-round game the Lady Cavs aimed high for their goals and knew what they needed to do to achieve it. “Our main goal was really set on making playoffs. I’m feeling confidence about going playing Gwynedd,” returning junior Jennifer Skursky said. “We have momentum, the teamwork’s there, we just have to put it together,” captain Jackie Yoder said.
A turning point for the Lady Cav’s this season was a game that ended in double overtime against Alvernia. The team gained confidence after this game because they came so close to winning. Alvernia won the PAC title last year and are a well-ranked team. ” This is when I said if you can play with this team then you can play with any team in the conference,” Coach Morgan said. However, the game ended in Alvernia’s favor of 62-60. Even though a win was not gained from this double overtime battle the Lady Cavs gained confidence within. ” I could sense the confidence, I could see it in practice, in games, and you can see they believe they can win,” Morgan said.
The line up was limited during pre-season and new players were in demand. Bobbi Morgan, first year head coach, was pleased when two junior student-athletes joined the team. Megan McKeage, lacrosse player, and Nicole Niedermeier, soccer player added dynamic to the team. “Megan and Nicole came out late and their impact is as good as the leading scorers,” Morgan said.
“I could not have asked for a better group of kids for my first year here. I’m happy and proud for them,” Morgan said.
Fortunately, Morgan will not be losing any players to graduation because of the lack of seniors.
Every player on the roster was crucial to the outcome of the women’s season. There were only four returning players; Alisa Siderio, Jackie Yoder, Erin Shemar and Jennifer Skursky.
The lack of returners created an extremely young team. “Freshman are playing well; they aren’t paying like freshman at all. They have had to play more experienced than they really are,” Skursky said.
The freshmen have been demonstrating a positive contribution to the team. During the last home game, Feb. 16, starting freshman, Samantha Hartling, scored 28 points against Neumann College making it her career high.
Next year the Cabrini basketball program will be missing the key piece of its puzzle, John Dzik.
When being hired at Cabrini Morgan was honored to be coaching a team that wore the same colors as Dzik’s team. “I was excited to be the women’s coach at the same school that John Dzik was the men’s coach,” Morgan said. Since the school’s men’s head coach will not be returning due to unexpected situations no one can predict what the future holds. ” All I can say is that it casts a shadow on the whole school, and it is a rippling effect, touching a lot of lives,” said Morgan of the non-renewed contract of Dzik.
Posted to web by Ryan Norris
