Sweet 16 for Lobach
While she has been mentioned in the College Spotlight before, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up South Western alum Nikki Lobach at least one more time before she graduates this spring from Messiah College.
Especially now that she has helped lead her women’s basketball team to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.
Lobach scored 12 points in the Falcons’ 63-34 shellacking of Cabrini College in the tournament’s opening round and the next day added 15 points as Messiah improved to 27-2 on the season with a 64-49 win over St. Lawrence University in the round of 32. Silalei Shani poured in 24 points off the bench in the win.
Next for the fourth-ranked Falcons Friday’s a home game against the University of Rochester (22-5), with the winner moving on to a spot in the Elite Eight.
In 29 games this season, Lobach has averaged a team-high 17.1 points per game. That number is particularly impressive considering that because of several lopsided scores, the two-time MAC Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year plays a little more than 27 minutes per game.
She is shooting a red-hot 56.1 percent from the field, including 39.5 percent from 3-point land and 77 from the free throw line. So far she has led the team in scoring 17 times and is second on the team in assists with 70.
Also on the Messiah squad is Delone Catholic grad Michelle Schleich, a freshman who has appeared in 27 games off the bench, averaging seven minutes, one point and nearly two rebounds per contest.
A victory over Rochester will give the Falcons an Elite Eight home game on Saturday against the winner between Tufts and No. 5 Mary Washington.
Sport shorts: Sometimes there seems to be no logic in the world.
Denver Nuggets forward Kenyan Martin somehow retained his driver’s license after getting a pair of speeding tickets, one for driving 101 mph in a 30-mph zone and another for doing 103 mph in a 55-mph zone.
But at least, according to the Rocky Mountain News, the Denver city prosecutor who arranged the plea deals was suspended for three days without pay.
Here is to hoping that Martin avoids driving in school zones.
