Feb 18, 2014
Box Score (XML)
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Elizabethtown College became the first women's basketball program in NCAA Division III history and third in all divisions to win 1,000 games Tuesday night, 72-66, at Stevenson.
The Blue Jays, in their 86th season of play, join two of Division I's most distinctive programs in Tennessee (1,238 wins) and Louisiana Tech (1,038) in the club.
E-town (19-4, 13-4 Commonwealth Conference) received game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds from senior forward Taylor Kreider, as they built a five-point halftime lead and sustained it throughout the second half.
Kreider was limited to just seven minutes in the opening half, as she picked up two quick fouls. With one of the conference's top players on the bench, the Blue Jays were in need of production from somewhere.
Enter senior guard Kendra Beittel and junior center Emily Young. The two upperclassmen carried the load, combining for 18 first-half points against a scrappy, in-your-face Stevenson (13-11, 11-6 CC) defense.
Maintaining a lead with Kreider sitting turned out to be huge. When the Willow Street native re-entered the game to start the second half, she took off.
Kreider slashed her way to the hoop on multiple occasions and the Mustangs simply had no answers. She hit 9-of-10 field goals, scored 21 points and ripped down nine boards as the blue and gray built a double-digit lead.
Four E-town starters were in double figures, including Young who had a career-best game with 14 points and seven rebounds. Beittel scored all 10 of her points before halftime and Rachel Forjan had 13.
Forjan overcame a tough game handling the ball by drilling all eight of her free throws. She was clutch down the stretch, making four of them to keep Stevenson at bay when they cut into a 12-point deficit over the final three minutes.
Elizabethtown, winner of the 1982 and 1989 NCAA Division III national championships, seven Middle Atlantic Conference championships and the 2001 Commonwealth Conference championship, improved to 1,000-497-7 since 1928-29. E-town has one of the longest tenured women's programs in the nation.
Former coach Yvonne Kauffman, who ranks fourth amongst Division III coaches and 20th across all divisions with 689 wins from 1970-2012, was on hand to see her former player and current head coach, Sherri Gorman, lead the Blue Jays to the historic victory.
Gorman was a member of the 1982 title team and has Elizabethtown poised to hit the 20-win mark for the first time since 2000-01. The team can reach that mark with a win in the regular season finale Saturday at Albright.
Stevenson got 17 points apiece from Kayla Kelly and Kyarra Harmon, but together they made just 12-of-33 shots. Kayleigh Guzek secured 10 rebounds and scored nine points in defeat.
While its 3-point and free throw shooting numbers were down in the second half, the Blue Jays picked it up from the floor, shooting 21% better (57.6%) than their first half totals.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Elizabethtown College became the first women's basketball program in NCAA Division III history and third in all divisions to win 1,000 games Tuesday night, 72-66, at Stevenson.
The Blue Jays, in their 86th season of play, join two of Division I's most distinctive programs in Tennessee (1,238 wins) and Louisiana Tech (1,038) in the club.
E-town (19-4, 13-4 Commonwealth Conference) received game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds from senior forward Taylor Kreider, as they built a five-point halftime lead and sustained it throughout the second half.
Kreider was limited to just seven minutes in the opening half, as she picked up two quick fouls. With one of the conference's top players on the bench, the Blue Jays were in need of production from somewhere.
Enter senior guard Kendra Beittel and junior center Emily Young. The two upperclassmen carried the load, combining for 18 first-half points against a scrappy, in-your-face Stevenson (13-11, 11-6 CC) defense.
Maintaining a lead with Kreider sitting turned out to be huge. When the Willow Street native re-entered the game to start the second half, she took off.
Kreider slashed her way to the hoop on multiple occasions and the Mustangs simply had no answers. She hit 9-of-10 field goals, scored 21 points and ripped down nine boards as the blue and gray built a double-digit lead.
Four E-town starters were in double figures, including Young who had a career-best game with 14 points and seven rebounds. Beittel scored all 10 of her points before halftime and Rachel Forjan had 13.
Forjan overcame a tough game handling the ball by drilling all eight of her free throws. She was clutch down the stretch, making four of them to keep Stevenson at bay when they cut into a 12-point deficit over the final three minutes.
Elizabethtown, winner of the 1982 and 1989 NCAA Division III national championships, seven Middle Atlantic Conference championships and the 2001 Commonwealth Conference championship, improved to 1,000-497-7 since 1928-29. E-town has one of the longest tenured women's programs in the nation.
Former coach Yvonne Kauffman, who ranks fourth amongst Division III coaches and 20th across all divisions with 689 wins from 1970-2012, was on hand to see her former player and current head coach, Sherri Gorman, lead the Blue Jays to the historic victory.
Gorman was a member of the 1982 title team and has Elizabethtown poised to hit the 20-win mark for the first time since 2000-01. The team can reach that mark with a win in the regular season finale Saturday at Albright.
Stevenson got 17 points apiece from Kayla Kelly and Kyarra Harmon, but together they made just 12-of-33 shots. Kayleigh Guzek secured 10 rebounds and scored nine points in defeat.
While its 3-point and free throw shooting numbers were down in the second half, the Blue Jays picked it up from the floor, shooting 21% better (57.6%) than their first half totals.
