Basketball Spotlight: Rance, Shumoski Star as Devils Defeat Lightning Wednesday, February 16, 2005 By Bob Heller USIP Sports Information Director Shelby Rance scored a season high 31 points and Leah Shumoski became just the second women's basketball player in school history to record a triple-double as the Devils defeated Goldey Beacom College 80-70 this evening. Rance (So, Central Columbia HS/Bloomsburg, PA) connected on 13 of 17 shots from the field including five of seven from beyond the three-point line. Shelby also added seven rebounds. Shumoski (Jr., Marple-Newtown HS/ Broomall, PA) finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to record the "triple-double". Leah also added two blocks and three steals on the night. Shumoski becomes the first women's basketball player to record a triple-double since Kim Koschineg did the feat twice in the 1997-98 season. Lori Wernik (So., Lower Cape May Twp. HS/Cape May, NJ) joined Rance and Shumoski in double figures with 12 points. In addition Wernik pulled down six boards. Kim Rowley and Toni Jones paced the Lightning with 25 and 18 points respectively. Both Rowley and Jones pulled down 11 rebounds apiece to record double-doubles on the evening. The Lightning got off to a fast start, scoring the first eight points of the game and eventually taking an 11-point lead, 23-12 with 12:54 left in the half. The Devils then went on an 11-2 run over the next 3:06 to pull within two 25-23. Rance started the run with a short jumper and the Lightning's Tiffany Ervin countered. Shumoski and Wernik then added baskets and Rashanna Edwards (So, West Windsor-Plainsboro HS/Plainsboro, NJ) (8 points, six assists) nailed a three-point field goal to end the run. After Michelle Azzanesi made a three-point field goal of her own to boost Goldey's lead back to five, 28-23, Rance scored six straight points to give the Devils their first lead 29-28 with 7:21 left. The Lightning kept things close the remainder of the half until the final 31 seconds. With the Devils leading by three, 40-37, Shumoski made a layup and was fouled. Leah converted the free throw for the three-point play. Rance then nailed her second '3-ball' of the game with just two seconds left to make the score 46-37 at the break. Both teams shot exceptionally well in the first half with the Lightning making 57.1% (16-28) of their shots from the field to the Devils 52.6% (20-38). In the second half, the Devils put the game out of reach with a 17-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 20 points, 65-45 with 13 minutes left. Shumoski's basket at the 17:33 mark started things off. Rance, Edwards and Wernik followed with baskets to make the score 56-43. Rance then connected on three straight three point field goals to complete the run. USP maintained their double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game, although the Lightning made a final run, outscoring the Devils 10-3 over the final 2:57 to make the final margin 10 points, 80-70. The Devils finished the game shooting 43.4% from the field (33-76). USP also shot 54.5% from three-point range (6-11). Goldey Beacom connected on 48.3% of their shots from the field (28-58). The Devils held the edge on the boards 41-35 and worked the ball well on offense, recording 27 assists. USP is now 16-7 overall and 14-4 in league play. The Lightning drop to 5-18 overall and 4-14 in league play. Next up for USP is another home conference matchup on Thursday, February 17, 2005 as the Lions of Georgian Court University come to town.