The Glenville State College Lady Pioneers claimed the 2011 WVIAC Tournament Championship as they defeated the University of Charleston Golden Eagles 77-73 on Saturday.
Beth Deren (Jr., Akron, OH) led the Pioneers in scoring with 16 points including four 3 point baskets. LaToya Hambrick (Jr., Chicago, IL) chipped in with 11 points and Tenisha Wilson (Jr., Chicago, IL) hit for 10 points. Mishae Miles (Jr., Chicago, IL) snagged 13 rebounds for the Pioneers.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 6 point lead in the first half only to see Glenville State surge to a 7 point lead at the half.
The Lady Pioneers controlled the tempo for most of the game, building a 16 point lead before Charleston made a late run with three minutes to go. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to just two points with under a minute to play, however freshman Kenyell Goodson (Fr., Reynoldsburg, OH) calmly buried two free throws to ice the victory for GSC.
For the game, GSC hit on 41.8 percent of its shots while UC made 40.8 percent of its attempts.
Commenting on the Pioneers first WVIAC Tournament Championship since 2007, GSC Coach Bunky Harkleroad stated, “We excpect to win every game on our schedule.”
Glenville’s Tenisha Wilson, Miranda Reed and Mishae Miles were all named to the All Tournament Team. Wilson was also awarded the MVP trophy and Reed was honored with the Heart and Hustle Award.
The victory earned the Lady Pioneers a berth in the 2011 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament that will be played this weekend at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Glenville is the number 7 seed in the eight team field and will face Johnson C. Smith University of Charlotte, North Carolina, the number 2 seed, in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m.
If the Lady Pioneers win they would advance to the semi finals on Saturday, March 12 at 5:00 p.m. against the West Liberty University/Millersville University winner.
The Regional Championship game will be played on Monday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m.
The Lady Pioneers are making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance. GSC won the Regional Tournament in 2002 and 2007 advancing to the NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight. This is their first regional appearance since 2007.
All Lady Pioneer Regional games will be broadcast live on 100.3 FM WAFD as well as on the internet at www.gscpioneers.com. The pregame show will air thirty minutes prior to the scheduled start time for the game.
Media contact:
Bob Edwards
Public Relations Department
Glenville State College
304-462-7361, x6390
Bob.Edwards@glenville.edu
