BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (January 25, 2011) – After earning a sweep of Molloy on Post Pride Day this past Saturday, the men's and women's basketball teams will once again host a doubleheader East Coast Conference matchup. On Wednesday, the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans come into the Pratt Recreation Center looking to take down the Pioneers.

 

The Pioneer women's team is coming off a hard fought victory against Molloy, 49-41, moving to 6-5 in the ECC in the process and evening the overall record to 8-8. Senior Shatima Greer (Central Islip, N.Y.) led the way for C.W. Post, putting up a double-double behind 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Janea Aiken (St. Albans, N.Y.) joined her classmate in double –figure points, putting in 13. 

 

Coach Deirdre Moore's squad was able to control the inside game against the Lions as well, holding a 28-14 advantage in points in the paint while also outrebounding Molloy 42-36, led by 8 boards ripped down by senior Alyssa Lombardi (New Fairfield, Conn.). The Pioneers on the season hold a +2.4 rebounding margin against opponents, second best in the conference. 

 

Offensively, Aiken has been the go to scorer for the Pioneers with her conference fourth best 15.9 points a game mark. On the glass, Lombardi has helped the Pioneers turn a positive rebounding margin against opponents with her third best 8.3 rebounds a game. As a team, the Pioneers are one of the better defensive teams in the league, holding opponents to only 59.1 points a game on 36.7 percent shooting from the field. 

 

St. Thomas Aquinas comes into the game with the best record in the conference, 10-1 (14-4 overall), with the most recent win coming against Mercy this past Saturday, 74-65. The Spartans have been frequent visitors to the ECC weekly honor roll, with the team achieving five Player of the Week awards and one Rookie of the Week. 

 

Junior Briana Sloper, a Long Island native, has earned four of the team's five Player of the Week nods. Sloper is the second leading scorer in the conference, keeping steady at 18.8 points a game. She also can be a force on the boards, averaging the seventh best mark with 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore Shpresa Liharevic was the other Spartan to earn Player of the Week during the course of the season. The guard is currently averaging 11.8 points a game, behind 1.83 made per game from beyond the arc. 

 

Riley Harrington has been the lone Spartan to earn Rookie of the Week this season, as she has come off the bench in all 18 games to provide a spark, converting 20, threes on the season and averaging 4.2 points a game. 

 

Although this sophomore guard has not earned any personal accolades during the season, she has been one of the more consistent players for the Spartans. Bianca Kowgios has been arguably the best point guard in the league, averaging a conference best 5.61 assists per game while also playing well on the defensive side with 2.50 steals per game, good for the second in the conference. Kowgios also is shooting the best in the conference from the charity stripe, being true on 85.5 percent of her free throw attempts on the year. 

 

The Spartans hold many of the top spots in statistical categories being the best team record wise. The team is the most potent offense at 65.6 points a game while also dishing out 13.83 assists a game. St. Thomas is also the only team in the conference having a better rebounding margin than the Pioneers at a +3.3 margin a game. The Spartan defense has also been able to control opponents on the defensive side, holding foes to 61.8 points a game. 

 

Back on the January 5, these two teams first met on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas. The Spartans were able to build a lead of as large as 19 with about four minutes left in the game, holding off the Pioneers for a 59-47 conference win. Sloper led the way with 16 points and five rebounds, with help off the bench from sophomore Leane Urbancik, who pitched in 14 points. Nicole Marciniak led the effort for the Pioneers with 13 points and seven rebounds. The Pioneers went cold from beyond the arc during the game, only being able to knock down one, three all game. 

 

Led by ECC Player of the Week, junior Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.), the Pioneers are looking to extend the current winning streak to nine games against the men's team from St. Thomas Aquinas. Last time out, the Pioneers were able to take down the Lions of Molloy in an easy 75-53 win. The Pioneers were able to avenge an earlier season loss to the Lions and extend the winning streak to eight games and keeping pace a top of the ECC standings at a 9-2 (12-6 overall) mark with Bridgeport and Queens.

 

Bonneau led the way with 22 points, with senior guard Gilbert Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) chipping in 13 points and seven assists. Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) helped give the Pioneers a 34-28 rebounding advantage with his own 11 boards. The Pioneers led by 15 at the break, and then pushing the lead to as many as 23 during the second half. C.W. Post used a 24-6 points off turnovers advantage to help pressure the Lions.

 

Bonneau is coming being named Player of the Week for the second time this year. During play last week, Bonneau averaged 24.5 points a game in a 2-0 week for the Pioneers. He now pushes his league leading points per game average to 18.8 points a game, while also chipping in 4.2 rebounds a game. The junior guard is scoring and scoring with efficiency as he his shooting 44.3 percent from three-point range and making 2.76, threes a game. He is also shooting 92.3 percent from the charity stripe, a conference best. 

 

Bonneau is not the only Pioneer having a strong season, however, as his teammates also find themselves among conference leaders. Hall is fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 14.9 points a game. He is also among the leaders is rebounds with teammate Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.). Kohler leads the team with 6.3 rebounds a game, with hall right behind him at 5.9 a game. Montalvo is the league leader in assists with his 5.72 assists per game, and is keeping his turnovers down with a 3.12 assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior has also controlled his opponents' offense, forcing 2.28 steals a game. 

 

As a team, the Pioneers are the best offensive scoring unit in the conference. C.W. Post is averaging 81.1 points a game on 46.1 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free throw line. The team is also converting on long-range attempts, converting 8.72, threes a game on 40.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Coach Chris Casey's team is also sharing the ball well, dishing out 16.67 assists a game, led by Montalvo. 

 

This season has been a struggle for the Spartans thus far, with all four of the team's win coming during conference play. The team has come on lately, winning two of the past three games and the latest coming this past Saturday against Mercy. The team is now 4-7 in the ECC and 4-12 overall.

 

Sophomore Justin Brown, out of Uniondale, has become one of the top scorers in the league for the Spartans. He is now third in the conference with his 15.6 points a game and is also averaging 5.9 rebounds a game. Brown is also one of the better free throw shooters in the conference, making 78.1 percent of his attempts. He accomplished ECC Player of the Week earlier in the season for his efforts. 

 

Brown's classmate, Daniel Skinner, has also had a strong year. Dishing out 4.25 assists per game, Skinner has established himself as one of the better creators for his teammates in the conference. He is also have a strong year on the defensive side with 2.13 steals a game. Jamie Blanchard has helped establish the Spartans as one of the better interior defensive teams in the ECC, as he is averaging 1.19 of the teams conference best 3.75 blocks a game. 

 

Along with posing a threat for teams to drive against them, the Spartans have been playing well all-around the defensive end. The team is holding teams to only 62.9 points a game, with a 40.8 defensive field goal percentage. 

 

Last time these two met, the Pioneers were in the midst of winning the second of this current game eight game winning streak as C.W. Post was able to hands St. Thomas a 71-49 defeat on January 5. Bonneau once again was the leader in scoring for the Pioneers, contributing 17 to the winning effort along with eight rebounds. Kohler and Hall once again held their own down-low, as Kohler had 13 points and six rebounds and Hall put forth 11 points and seven rebounds. The Spartans shot only 35 percent from the field, with no one on the team reaching double-figures. The Pioneers also held the rebounding edge with a 38-31 margin. 

 

The Pioneer women will be looking to take down the Spartan women, giving the team its second loss in the past three games. For the men's game, C.W. Post will be looking to keep pace in first place of the ECC as Queens and Bridgeport will be taking on one another at the same time. The women's game will tip off at 5 p.m., with the men to follow at 7 p.m. If you can't make it to the Pratt Center, be sure to check into the athletic website for all game information (Live Stats, Live Radio, and Live Video).