Jessica Zoltowski

Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski, who now plays for the Elmira (N.Y.) College women’s basketball team, is on the verge of reaching 1,000 career points.

Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch junior guard, scored 20 points in Elmira’s 61-58 victory over Alfred University Tuesday night to move her career point total to 998. She added 13 rebounds.

She also moved into the No. 4 scoring spot in Elmira history, passing Karen Spaulding (997 points). Zoltowski trails only Mary Kay Babcock (1,457 points), Martha Bolduc (1,202) and Kourtney Troutman (1,141) in the Elmira list. She is on pace to become the school’s all-time leader scorer next season.

She will go for 1,000 points Friday night when Elmira visits Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

Today’s On Campus college notebook in the Erie Times-News features updates on sisters/General McLane graduates Sarah and Leah Hansen. Also featured are gymnast Stephanie Stoicovy, several area baseball players, including Joe Gnacinski, and more.

On Friday, Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski reached the 1,000-point mark for Elmira (N.Y.) college.

Here’s a look at some of the recent results of area athletes and coaches connected with women’s basketball programs:

• General McLane graduate Sarah Hansen shot 7-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, on her way to 18 points Saturday in Florida Gulf Coast University’s 89-38 rout of Lipscomb (Tenn.). Hansen, a junior guard, now has 1,325 points and is just 91 from becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. FGCU now has won 15 games in a row and has won 35 straight Atlantic Sun games.

• Mercyhurst Prep grad Kirsten Olowinski scored 15 points and added eight rebounds, but Miami (Ohio) lost to visiting Central Michigan 72-60 in a Mid-American Conference game Saturday. Olowinski, a 6-foot 1-inch senior forward, also had four steals and three blocked shots. She moved into the No. 15 spot on Miami’s career scoring list with 1,203 points. The Redhawks (14-10) have lost three in a row and four of their past five.

Jessica Zoltowski

• Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski scored a career-high 32 points while adding 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists in Elmira (N.Y.) College’s 79-75 win over Utica Saturday. Zoltowski, a junior guard, shot 12-of-24 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range.

• McDowell graduate Allison Braun had 10 points and six rebounds, but Canisius College lost to Iona 84-79 Saturday. The senior guard is averaging 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

• Girard native Curt Miller led the Indiana University basketball team to a strong 10-5 start in his first season with the Big Ten’s Hoosiers. However, Indiana has struggled in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have lost 10 in a row to drop to 10-15. They are 1-11 in the Big Ten. Indiana will try to end its losing streak Wednesday at home against Purdue.

Today’s On Campus notebook in the Erie Times-News features items on Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski, General McLane grad Sarah Hansen, Fairview grad Carolyn Eckendorf and Corry grad Eric Fairchild, among others.

Cram Session features quick-hitting athlete updates:

Kayla McBride

 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

• Villa Maria graduate Kayla McBride and No. 2 Notre Dame will face perhaps their biggest challenge of the season thus far today at 2 p.m. when they visit No. 3 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. The ACC game will be televised live on ESPN. The Fighting Irish are 20-0 overall and 7-0 in the ACC while Duke is 21-1, 8-0. McBride, a senior All-American, is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

• Indiana will try to end its recent its Big Ten Conference slump today at 2 p.m. when the Hoosiers visit Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Indiana, which is coached by Girard native Curt Miller, started the season 14-0 but has fallen to 15-6 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten. Illinois enters the game at 9-12, 2-6. Villa Maria grad Karlee McBride, a freshman guard, is averaging 10.1 minutes and 4.9 points per game for the Hoosiers.

Jessica Zoltowski

• Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski continues to play the best basketball of her career at Division III Elmira. She had 26 points, six steals and five rebounds in a 73-60 win over Houghton on Friday. She then had 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 64-57 win over Utica on Saturday. She is averaging 21.2 points per game for Elmira, which improved to 13-4 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 Conference.

Zoltowski increased her career scoring total to 1,442 points and is now just 15 points behind Mary Kay Babcock’s school record of 1,457. Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch senior guard, will go for the record Tuesday at home against Alfred University.

• General McLane grad Sarah Hansen was limited to six points and four rebounds Saturday as Florida Gulf Coast saw its eight-game winning streak end with a 63-43 loss to Northern Kentucky. The Eagles dropped to 8-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference while slipping to 14-7 overall. Hansen, FGCU’s leading scorer, attempted only six shots from the field.

• Duquesne won its seventh straight game, a 55-45 victory at Richmond on Saturday. Girard graduate Raegan Moore did not play in the game. Duquesne’s website did not state why Moore was not in the lineup.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Jessica Zoltowski’s outstanding senior season with the Elmira (N.Y.) women’s basketball team hit a high point Tuesday night when she broke the school’s career scoring record.

Zoltowski, a Harbor Creek graduate, scored 25 points in the Soaring Eagles’  72-59 home victory over visiting Alfred University.

That moved her career total to 1,467 points, surpassing Mary Kay Babcock’s 32-year-old record of 1,457.  She broke the record with a layup midway through the second half.

Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch guard, has enjoyed a standout senior season. She is averaging 21.4 points per game while leading Elmira to a 14-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Empire 8 Conference.

Zoltowski is on pace to hit the 1,500-point mark this weekend and figures to build a much wider lead with seven regular-season games remaining.

Check out Elmira video of Zoltowski’s record-breaking moment:

Curt Miller

Karlee McBride

Women’s basketball updates involving area grads:

Curt Miller has his young Indiana women’s basketball team on a bit of a run after a recent slump in Big Ten Conference play.

The Hoosiers registered their second win in a row Saturday as they avenged an earlier loss and beat Wisconsin 79-69 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. Villa Maria graduate Karlee McBride, a freshman guard, came off the bench to score eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 2-of-2 3-point attempts.

Indiana, which started the season 14-0,  improved to 17-6 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten. Miller, a Girard native, is in his second season as Indiana head coach.

Sarah Hansen

• General McLane graduate Sarah Hansen had a big night Saturday to help Florida Gulf Coast hold off USC Upstate 76-69 in an Atlantic Sun Conference game. Hansen had team highs of 26 points and eight rebounds while helping the Eagles improve to 16-7 overall and 10-1 in the Atlantic Sun.

Hansen, a senior guard, was red hot from 3-point range, sinking 6-of-11 attempts from long range. She is FGCU’s career leader in scoring and rebounding.

• Villa Maria grad Lisa Mifsud had a team-high 16 points and five assists Saturday, but Holy Cross lost to Bucknell 82-79. The Crusaders dropped to 14-9 overall and 6-6 in the Patriot League. Mifsud, a sophomore guard, has started 22 games and is averaging 10.5 points per game.

• The No. 2-ranked Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team will host Syracuse today at 3 p.m. in a game that will benefit cancer research. The Fighting Irish (22-0 overall) lead the ACC with a 9-0 record during their first season in the conference.

Senior guard Kayla McBride, a Villa Maria graduate, recently was named espnW national player of the week and ACC player of the week. She has moved into ninth place on the Notre Dame career scoring list with 1,580 points.

ND coach Muffett McGraw can tie late North Carolina State coach Kay Yow for 11th place on the Division I career wins list today. McGraw has 736 wins overall and has 648 victories in 27 seasons with Notre Dame.

• The Duquesne women’s basketball team has slipped into a tie for third place in the Atlantic 10 after back-to-back losses to George Washington Wednesday and to Dayton Saturday. Girard graduate Raegan Moore, a senior guard, had mixed success in the two games. Against George Washington, she had 21 points and six assists, but against Dayton, she went 3-of-10 from the field and finished with eight points. Check out video from the George Washington game at the bottom of this post, including highlights of Moore, who is No. 15 in the pink uniform.

Jessica Zoltowski

• Harbor Creek grad Jessica Zoltowski hit another milestone this weekend with the Elimira basketball program. Earlier last week, she became the Soaring Eagles’ career scoring leader. On Saturday, he topped the 1,500-point mark in her career. The senior guard scored 24 points Saturday to push her total to 1,506.

As a Zoltowski profile by Bob Jarzomski in Saturday’s Erie Times-News pointed out, Zoltowski is more focused on making the playoffs for the first time in her career than on breaking records. Elmira (14-6 overall, 6-4 Empire 8) has suffered back-to-back losses but is close to locking up an Empire 8 Conference playoff berth.

• Corry graduate Emily Greer has enjoyed a strong season for the Le Moyne basketball team, starting all 22 games and averaging 11.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She has helped Le Moyne to a 12-10 record.

On Feb. 1, the 5-foot 10-inch junior forward scored a career-high 28 points in the Dolphins’ 81-63 win over Franklin Pierce. In that game, she shot 6-of-9 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line.

McDowell grad Maddie Hahesy, a junior guard, has played in all 22 games for Le Moyne while posting averages of 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Villa Maria grad Ashley Prischak, a senior guard, is averaging 1.7 points in nine games.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski became the career scoring leader at Elmira (N.Y.) last week, and on Monday she received two honors for her accomplishment.

Zoltowski, a senior guard, was named Empire 8 Conference player of the week for the second time this season. She also was named Elmira athlete of the week for the second time.

The 5-foot 9-inch senior guard broke Elmira’s scoring record with her 1,458th point last week during a game against Alfred. She then scored a combined 39 points in her next two games to push her career total to 1,506.

Cram Session features quick-hitting athlete updates and commentary:

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

Kayla McBride

• Villa Maria grad Kayla McBride had a team-high 19 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds in 26 minutes of action as Notre Dame stayed unbeaten with an 82-61 victory over Boston College on Thursday. The No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish improved to 24-0 overall and 11-0 in the ACC.

The Irish will host Georgia Tech on Monday night.

• Girard native Curt Miller’s Indiana team could not slow down Maggie Lucas, and as a result, the Hoosiers lost to Penn State 71-63 in a Big Ten game Thursday in Bloomington, Ind. Lucas scored 32 points to power the No. 11 Nittany Lions (19-5, 10-2). Villa Maria grad Karlee McBride, a freshman guard, did not score for Indiana, which dropped to 17-7, 4-7.

The Hoosiers will visit Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.

Sarah Hansen

• General McLane graduate Sarah Hansen had 18 points and 10 rebounds in Florida Gulf Coast’s 99-57 rout of Mercer on Thursday night. FGCU improved to 17-7 overall and 11-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer dipped to 12-11, 5-7. The Eagles will host Kennesaw State on Saturday night.

• After a week off, Raegan Moore and the Duquesne women’s basketball team face a big Atlantic 10 game Saturday night at St. Bonaventure. The Dukes have lost two games in a row but have been off since Saturday. Duquesne (16-8 overall, 8-3) is tied for second place with St. Bonaventure (19-7, 8-3) behind Dayton (16-5, 9-1). The Dukes beat the Bonnies 76-65 at home on New Year’s Day.

Moore, a Girard grad, is tied for Duquesne’s team lead with an average of 15.5 points per game. The 6-foot 1-inch senior guard is shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

Jessica Zoltowski

• Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski has continued to set records at Elmira after breaking the school’s career scoring record last week. In Wednesday’s 70-64 non-conference win over Pennsylvania College of Technology, Zoltowski set the Soaring Eagles’ standards for single-season free throws made and career free throws made.

The 5-foot 9-inch senior guard had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the game. She also sank 6-of-7 free-throw attempts to give her a school-record 121 free throws on the season. She has attempted 153 and is shooting 79.1 percent from the line. She also has made a record 346 free throws in her four-year career.

The Soaring Eagles (15-6 overall, 6-4 Empire 8) will try for an upset tonight when they visit first-place Ithaca (18-4, 10-1) in an Empire 8 game. The Bombers have won 10 in a row.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Cram Session features quick-hitting athlete updates and commentary:

BASEBALL:

• College baseball teams schedule February games in the South to escape wintry weather. However, that plan backfired for the Mercyhurst and Gannon baseballs team this week.

North Carolina was hit by a heavy winter snow storm, causing Mercyhurst’s three games against Winston-Salem State to be canceled this weekend. The Lakers will attempt a second southern swing  Friday against Wilmington (Del.) University in Dinwiddie, Va.

Meanwhile, Gannon had been scheduled to face Virginia State in doubleheaders Sunday and Monday, but those four games have been postponed because of the storm. No make-up dates have been set.

WRESTLING:

Evan Daley

Austin Matthews

• Clarion will wrestle the second of two major opponents this weekend when the Golden Eagles host No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State this afternoon. Clarion is coming off a 28-7 loss to West Virginia on Friday night.

The only victories for the Golden Eagles against West Virginia were collected by two freshmen who were District 10 stars last year. Reynolds graduate Austin Matthews moved his record 20-5 with an 11-2 major decision at 157 pounds over WVU’s Jason Luster. Fort LeBoeuf grad Evan Daley moved to 17-12 by claiming a 3-1 overtime victory at 285 pounds against A.J. Vizcarrando.

Clarion will host Oklahoma State today at 1 p.m. Matthews figures to face No. 2-ranked Alex Dieringer (22-1) at 157 pounds, while Daley is poised to face No. 16 Austin Marsden (17-6) at 285.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

• Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski attempted to rally the Elmira basketball team past Ithaca on Friday, but the Soaring Eagles lost 63-57 in an Empira 8 game. Zoltowski scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field (3-of-5 from 3-point range). The 5-foot 9-inch senior guard is averaging 21.6 points per game.

Elmira dropped to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the Empire 8 and is still attempting to secure a postseason berth.  Ithaca (19-4, 11-1) won in its 11th straight game.

FOOTBALL:

• Former record-breaking Erie Explosion quarterback Adam DiMichele has become a full-time assistant coach with Temple. He will serve as wide receivers coach after being a graduate assistant in 2013.

In 2011, DiMichele was named Southern Indoor Football League MVP with the Explosion after passing for 3,200 yards and 91 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. His a former Sto-Rox High School and Temple standout at quarterback.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski has added another accolade to her standout basketball career at Elmira (N.Y.) College.

The senior guard was named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year today. She recently became Elmira’s leading career scorer and now has 1,608 points. Zoltowski led the Empire 8 in scoring with an average of 21 points per game during the regular season. She also averaged 6.9 rebounds while leading the Soaring Eagles to a 16-9 overall record and a 7-7 conference mark.

Zoltowski also set a school record for single-season points with 526 while scoring in double digits in all 25 games. She has set several other Elmira records as well.

She joins Jennifer Parker (2004) as Elmira’s only players to be named E8 Player of the Year.

Zolotwski has led Elmira to its first postseason appearance since 2006-07. The Eagles will open the ECAC tournament March 5 against an opponent to be determined.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski closed her record-breaking career with the Elmira (N.Y.) basketball team Wednesday when the Soaring Eagles lost to Brooklyn College 50-47 in an ECAC Division III Metro tournament game in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch senior guard, scored 23 points and added nine rebounds as Elmira closed the season with a 16-10 record.

Zoltowski finished her career as Elmira’s all-time leading scorer with 1,631 points and holds several other records, including career and single-season free throws made. She averaged 21.1 points per game this season while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from 3-point range and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line.

She was a three-time Empire 8 Conference first-team all-star and was named Empire 8 Player of the Year following the 2013-14 regular season.

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Harbor Creek graduate Jessica Zoltowski became the first player in Elmira women’s basketball history to be named to the D3hoops.com Division III All-East Region first team today.

Zoltowski earlier was named Empire 8 Conference player of the year and first-team all-Empire 8. The 5-foot 9-inch senior guard averaged 21.1 points per game and became the Soaring Eagles’ leading career scorer with 1,631 points.

“I think Jess has proven by her play over the last couple years that she is one of the best players around” Elmira coach Shannon Howley said. ”No matter who we play, she has shown to be one of the best players on the floor.  I am really happy to see that people are recognizing how good a player she is.”

– Jeff Kirik, sports editor

Jessica Zoltowski

Add All-American to Jessica Zoltowski’s list of accomplishments during her basketball career.

Zoltowski, a Harbor Creek graduate who recently completed her career at Elmira (N.Y.), was named to the D3hoops.com All-America team as an honorable-mention selection.

Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch guard, recently was picked for the D3hoops.com all-East Region first team. She also was named the Empire Conference player of the year.

She became Elmira’s all-time scorer with 1,631 career points and averaged 21.1 points per game as a senior.

D3hoops.com All-American Team

Jessica Zoltowski, a Harbor Creek graduate, completed her college career as the most decorated women’s basketball player ever at Elmira College.

Zoltowski, a 5-foot 9-inch senior guard, was named Elmira’s Athlete of the Year and Booster Club Player of the Year this past week.

Zoltowski set several Elmira records this season, including career points (1,631), career free throws made (366), single-season points (549), single-season field goals made (187), and single-season free throws made (141). Zoltowski ranked 22nd in NCAA Division III in scoring (21.1 points per game) and averaged 7.0 rebounds per game.

She earned several postseason honors, including being named an NCAA Division III All-American honorable mention and the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year.