Box Score

CHEYNEY, Pa. - The Shippensburg University basketball team bore the brunt of 22 fouls by Cheyney on Saturday afternoon from Cope Hall yet responded by making 28-of-34 free-throw attempts and persevering against the Lady Wolves, but as the final horn sounded it was Cheyney who recorded a 71-66 victory over the Lady Raiders that ended SU's regular season.

Shippensburg (14-16, 7-7 PSAC East), as a result of Bloomsburg's win over Kutztown, was eliminated from playoff contention. The Huskies earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Division while West Chester got the No. 4 seed. It is the first time that Bloomsburg has qualified for the PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament since the 2004-05 season.

Senior forward Lauren Beckley and junior Kasey Gardner, as they have all season long, marvelously paced the offense with sensational performances. Beckley recorded her 59th career double-double with 26 points and 15 rebounds while making 13-of-14 attempts at the free-throw line. Her consecutive free throws streak, a new school record that surpassed Emily Swingler's mark, ended in the second half after having made 41-in-a-row dating back to Bloomsburg.

Gardner, who finished with a game-high 28 points that included a 9-of-10 conversion rate at the free-throw line, was all over the floor in the second half. She scored 18 of her points in the second half, including all three of her successful three-pointers. Gardner also had eight rebounds.

Redshirt freshman forward Caitlin Bamberger, who like Gardner and Beckley was a frequent recipient of physical contact throughout the entire game, fought through flying elbows and Cheyney's numerous post player substitutions to score eight points and grab six rebounds.

The Lady Raiders held a seven-point lead at halftime and maintained their edge deep into the second half. A layup by Gardner kept SU's lead at six points with 7:16 to play, but the Wolves kept coming at Shippensburg and eventually took the lead with 4:37 to go.

Cheyney stretched its lead to five points before a Beckley three-pointer got SU back within two points at the 1:44 mark. Still down just two in the final minute, the Lady Raiders could not convert several go-ahead three-point attempts and the Wolves clinched the game with success at the free-throw line.

Four seniors concluded their Lady Raider careers on Saturday. In addition to Beckley, twin sisters Sheila Wasser and Shelley Wasser complemented injured guard Ally Briggs in the 2009-10 class.

Ally had to sit out this season due to a knee injury but has been a consummate professional and hard worker for the Lady Raiders in her two years with the team. Her full season with the team came last year in the 2008-09 campaign. Ally took the floor in 12 games, scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Lady Raiders. Briggs has been an extremely valuable member of the team both on and off the court. Last season, Ally's hard work was rewarded by being named the team's 2008-09 Practice Player of the Year.

Sheila has been an important guard for the Lady Raiders through four years and has increased her playing time with each successive season. She has thrived as a senior, making 18 starts while appearing in 28 games. This season, she ranked fourth on the team in minutes, points and three-pointers. Over the last two seasons, Sheila made 27 starts, scored 144 points and recorded 65 assists. In her junior year, Wasser made 25 appearances and contributed 34 points, 23 rebounds and 14 assists. Through her four years as a Lady Raider, Wasser has appeared in 82 games, scored 199 points while dishing out 74 assists. Her awards include the Dick & Jeanne Eschenmann Hustle Award as well as the First Team Practice Award as a freshman.

Shelley exhibited a strong work ethic with the Lady Raiders through three seasons of competition. She joined the program midway through the 2007-08 season and developed as a valuable competitor for Shippensburg, earning the Most Improved Player award. Shelley made two starts in her career, one in each of the past two seasons. As a senior, Shelley has recorded career highs this season in every major statistical category. Wasser has scored 20 points this season while grabbing 18 rebounds and shooting 43 percent from the field. Overall, Shelley has appeared in 46 career games, scoring 36 points and grabbing 32 rebounds.

Yet the jewel of the class is certainly Beckley, an inspirational hero and one of the greatest players the conference has ever seen. Lauren scored more points than any player in the history of the PSAC, totaling 2,407 through 113 career games which ranks 15th all-time in Division II.

Beckley is the only player in league history to win a conference player of the year award in both divisions and one of just five players in the league with 2,000 or more career points and 1,000 or more career rebounds. Her final career rebounding total was 1,151, an average of 10.2 per game that ranks sixth in PSAC history.

In addition to her school record for points, Beckley established SU career marks with 263 three-pointers (fourth-best in PSAC history), 532 free throws (third-best in PSAC history) and a career free throw percentage of 84.8 (second-best in PSAC history).

This year as a senior, Beckley scored a career-high 654 points, just 16 less than the school record held by Tracy Spencer in 1995-96. She leads the PSAC and ranks sixth in the nation with 21.3 points per game.

Her academic prowess resulted in two PSAC Winter Top 10 awards and two ESPN The Magazine Academic First Team Regional All-American certificates. Perhaps her greatest individual season came as a national All-American in 2007-08, a sophomore campaign in which she averaged 22.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game while recording 21 double-doubles in 28 games.

Lastly, Beckley scored in double digits for 108 of her 113 career games, just shy of Ashley Totedo's school record. Beckley finished her career with two 40-point games, including a school record 47 against Lock Haven in 2008, along with 19 games of 30 or more points and 64 games of 20 or more points.

It is certain that her gifts as both a basketball player and as a charismatic human leader will never be forgotten.