March 2, 2010

Grove City well-represented on All-PAC cage teams

WEXFORD, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's and women's basketball teams are well-represented on the respective All-Presidents' Athletic Conference teams, as voted by the league's head coaches.

On the men's side, senior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) is the PAC Player of the Year and head coach Steve Lamie earned the conference's Coach of the Year award. O'Keefe also earned First Team distinction while sophomore guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) received Second Team commendation.

Senior guard Joe McCoy (Newark, Ohio/Newark) earned Honorable Mention after helping the Wolverines capture the conference title.

On the women's side, junior forward Christine Slater (Aliquippa, Pa./Center) earned First Team honors. Senior forwards Krista Beechy (Winesburg, Ohio/Berlin Hiland) and Laura Miller (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) each received Honorable Mention.

O'Keefe led Grove City in scoring this year, averaging 17.8 points per game. He also led the conference and team in field goal percentage, shooting 67.7 percent from the field. O'Keefe also led Grove City in rebounding with an average of 5.7 per game. The 6-foot-7 O'Keefe also shot 76.6 percent (134 of 175) at the foul line and blocked 35 shots. He also averaged 2.0 assists per game.

O'Keefe's 480 points this season represents the eighth-highest total in program history. He ranks 14th all-time at Grove City with 1,154 career points. He is a four-year letterman and three-year starter for Grove City (19-8 overall).

Matson has averaged 13.0 points and 4.1 assists per game this season while appearing in all 27 games at the point. The 6-0 Matson has distributed 110 assists this year, which is the sixth-highest total in program history. He is third in the conference in assists and foul shooting (82.6 percent).

McCoy has a team-high 54 three-point goals this year and is averaging 9.6 points per game. The 6-1 McCoy is also averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 88 percent (51 of 58) at the foul line this season.

Lamie earned his third PAC Coach of the Year award after guiding Grove City to a 9-3 conference record and the top seed in the PAC Championship Tournament. Grove City entered the season fourth in the conference's preseason poll. He also earned Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2004.

Grove City will face Wooster Friday night in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA Championship Tournament at 8 p.m.

Slater led the conference in scoring this year with an average of 16.0 points per game. She also ranked second in the league in rebounds, averaging 8.8 per game. Slater finished fourth in the conference in foul shooting (83.1 percent) and fifth in three-point accuracy (37.9 percent).

She fired in 417 points this year, which is the eighth-highest single-season total in Grove City history. The 5-9 Slater ranks eighth all-time at Grove City with 1,127 career points. Her 673 career rebounds are the fourth-most in program annals.

Beechy averaged 8.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this year while starting all 26 games. The 5-9 Beechy tied for the team lead with Slater with 57 assists this year. Miller recorded 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this year. She shot a team-best 85.7 percent at the foul line this year while starting 25 of 26 games.

Beechy and Miller co-captained the squad and helped Grove City to a 12-14 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the conference. The 8-6 mark is Grove City's best since the 2004-05 team went 8-2 in league play.

Washington & Jefferson senior guard Kennan Killeen earned PAC Player of the Year while Thomas More coach Brian Neal is the conference's Coach of the Year.

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