LadyCavstakePACtitlewithwinoverGwynedd

by Alison Briant and

Ron

D'Orazio

staff writer and sports editor

Dreams do come true.

As senior Melissa Posse and the Lady Cavaliers basketball team can tell you, though, it doesn't happen overnight, and it definitely doesn't happen without a fight.

This team has won important games before the recent victories.

This past season has actually included many memorable moments that the team members, coaches and proud Cabrini community members will never forget.

Talcefor example, Posse's 2,000th point.

Yes, making memorable events happen on the court has been something this team did best.

The Lady Cavs then won the first round of the PAC playoffs against Cedar Crest 69-50 in a dominating team performance.

Last weekend, however, marked the culmination of more than a full season of hard work and dedication from an enthusiastic team.

When the Lady Cavs defeated Marywood 79-74 on Friday in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference semi-finals and then captured the PAC championship title in the final game against Gwynedd-Mercy, 61-52, the missing puzzle piece to team captain Posse's career was put into place.

Posse received a good deal of help from teammates Erin Crawford, a first-year forward, and sophomore guard Gina Vrrelli during the championship tournament.

Crawford scored 27 points in the game against Marywood and Vrrelli added 15. Crawford came back the next day against Gwynedd-Mercy and drained 20, garnering the team high.

Junior Erin Barney, who came off the bench to add defensive pressure, said, "Winning the championship is greater than anything else."

This career-making win for the Lady Cavs in the PAC opened the door for the team to play in a National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament game against Johns Hopkins University.

The Lady Cavs travelled down to Baltimore, Md., for their game against Johns Hopkins.

1998-1999 Highlights

1/16/99-2/6/99 Lady Cavs win 10 PAC gamesin a row.

'2/17199 Senior Melissa Posse scores her 2,000th career point as the Lady Cavs beatMarywood71-61.

Despite 15 points from Posse, the Lady Cavs dropped the first-round contest to Johns Hopkins, 61-53.

Trailing 34-25 at the half, the Lady Cavs could not overcome the deficit and were eliminated from the NCAA Division ill tournament.

As for next season, the Lady Cavs have a strong, young nucleus that could very well result in another PAC title. PAC rookie-of-the-year winner Crawford is complemented by first-year forwards Mary Ellen Murphy and Kendra Ryer.

Murphy started in 27 out of 28 games and scored 8.1 points per game.

Ryer came off the bench and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game. Ryer's rebounding totals were good for second on the team.

Barney said that finding power in the center may be the only hurdle in the drive to a repeat, and Ryer may become that power.

"Everything else is in place for a repeat," Barney said.