PG East: Allegheny College leans on district twosome

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Two former district high school players are playing key roles for the Allegheny College women's basketball team this season.

Hempfield Area High School graduate Brittany Bell and Greensburg Central Catholic grad Jill Gregory are both starters for the Gators.

Bell is a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard who is averaging 8.2 points per game.

After leading the Gators to a 65-48 conference win at Wooster last week, Bell was named the North Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball player of the week, announced by the NCAC on Monday.

She scored a game- and career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. She also connected on 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range, marking the third highest single-game 3-point total in Allegheny history.

For the season, Bell is averaging 8.9 points per game and leads the Gators with 28 triples.

Gregory is a 5-8 freshman guard who is averaging 6.4 points per game. She is shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 73.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Seton Hills gets local boost

Two graduates of district high schools are making significant contributions to the women's basketball team at Seton Hill University in Greensburg.

Penn-Trafford graduate Autumn Himes and Norwin grad Erika Haitz are both starters for the Griffins.

Himes, a 5-10 senior guard/forward, is second in scoring with an 11.6 points per game average.

Haitz, a 5-10 sophomore guard/forward, is third in scoring (9.6 points per game) and second in rebounding (6.5 per game).

Brooks scores for IUP

Schenley graduate Gerald Brooks is averaging 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team.

Brooks, a 6-5 sophomore forward, was named PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Year last year as a freshman.

Latrobe's Menhorn leads UPG

Greater Latrobe High School graduate Tiffany Menhorn, a 5-7 junior guard, leads the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg women's basketball team (14-12) in scoring with a 14.6 points per game average.

Menhorn, who has played and started in 25 of the Bobcats' 26 games, has converted 39.6 percent of her field goal attempts (125 of 316), including 33 of 91 from 3-point range (36.3 percent). She has been extremely accurate from the free-throw line, connecting on 83 of 105 (79 percent).

She is also second on the team in rebounding at 5.8 per game , second in assists with 78, second in blocked shots with 14 and second in steals with 41.

Earlier this season she become the forth player in team history to surpass 1,000 points in career scoring.

First published on February 7, 2008 at 12:00 am