WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- With less than a month away from the first pitch of the 2012 season, fans and alumni can feel the excitement surrounding the opening of another Sailfish baseball season. Palm Beach Atlantic University will open the 2012 campaign by hosting Lynn University on February 2nd at 7 pm when the two Palm Beach County rivals get together in Jupiter, Florida at Roger Dean Stadium.

This will mark the third straight season that PBA will begin the baseball season at Roger Dean Stadium which is home to Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins and the defending World Series champion, St. Louis Cardinals.

Admission for the game will be free to the public where fans of both teams will have the opportunity to view a NCAA Division II baseball game in one of the region's finest baseball facilities.

The Sailfish return a large majority of their roster from a season ago when the team finished 27-26 under second-year head coach and MLB Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter. The Fish have since added another big league veteran to its coaching staff in former St. Louis Cardinal All-Star Kent Bottenfield as the program's Associate Head Coach.

Lynn University returns a solid core from its team of last year when they finished 26-23 including an 8-4 victory over PBA at Roger Dean Stadium last February. The Knights are under the direction of Rudy Garbalosa who is entering his 11th season as the head skipper at Lynn while leading the program to a NCAA Division II National Championship in 2009.

Fans will have the opportunity to participate in on-field promotions, enjoy traditional ballpark concessions, and experience a big league atmosphere from anywhere in the ballpark. Families are encouraged to bring everyone out for an exciting evening of PBA Baseball.

For questions on the game please contact PBA Assistant Athletic Director, Michael Brown at michael_brown@pba.edu or (561) 803-2529.

Palm Beach Atlantic University is a comprehensive, interdenominational Christian university founded in 1968, in West Palm Beach, Fla.

DHS Alum Sawyer Smith is a member of the baseball team.

FULTON - Currently riding a three-game winning streak, the William Woods University women's basketball team is set to open American Midwest Conference play on Thursday night as Hannibal-LaGrange University visits Anderson Arena. Tipoff for the game is set for 5:30 p.m.

Quick Look - William Woods

The Owls, who recently returned to the NAIA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25, have been solid in their last three outings, downing then #12-ranked Campbellsville 59-53, polishing off Peru State College by a 75-60 count and most recently leading wire-to-wire in a 56-47 win over McKendree University. Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) is averaging a double-double (13.0 pts, 10.0 rebounds) over the three-game set, while Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) is just shy of a double-double with 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds over the stretch.

WWU has maintained its edge on the defensive glass, but has allowed 50 offensive rebounds compared to 34 takes of its own. Another stat of note during the three-game stretch is William Woods' 16 blocks, which represent a third of the season-to-date total of 48. The Owls have spread the rejection around, with nine of the Owls' 15 regular contributors recording at least one and Aubuchon leading the way with four. WWU have also capitalized on their trips to the free throw line, with a 59-of-79 pace improving the season average by nearly 20 points to .689.

As a team, WWU has averaged only 60.1 pts/gm on the season but has been dominant defensively, holding its opponents to just 56.6 pts/gm - good for 16th among NAIA Division I schools - and have recorded 3.4 blocks per game - good for 23rd in the country per game and 28th overall. The Owls have also been dominant on the glass, ranked nationally in defensive (29.1/15th) and overall (42.5/25th) rebounds per game, and their margin of 4.9 reb/gm is good for 28th in the country.

Andrews leads the offense with 13.9 pts/gm, with Aubuchon improving to 10.3 pts/gm. Aubuchon is the leading rebounder for the Owls with 8.4 per contest and has a team-high 13 blocks on the year. Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) chips in 8.1 pts/gm for WWU, and Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) has added 6.8 pts/gm.

Quick Look - Hannibal-LaGrange

The Spartans bring a 9-6 record into Thursday's contest, and have been averaging 66.3 pts/gm. HLGU has shot at a solid .421 pace on the year, with a .314 mark from distance. Opponents have been able to match HLGU's pace, hitting at .405 and .318 clips respectively, but the Spartans have been strong on the defensive end, allowing nearly 100 fewer FG attempts on the season for its opponents and nearly 70 fewer 3-pt attempts.

The margin has been narrowed somewhat by trips to the free throw line, as the Spartans have sent opponents to the charity stripe 332 times on the year. HLGU holds a slim rebounding edge (35.1-33.0) and thanks to poor FT shooting from its opponents, the team also edges its opponents by a 66.3-61.7 pts/gm margin on the year.

The Spartans have two players averaging in double figures and four players with nine points per game or better. Ashleigh Spencer leads HLGU with 13.6 pts/gm on the campaign, just edging out Ashley Wilson's 13.1 pts/gm. Wilson is the team's leading rebounder, pulling in 7.9 rebounds per game on the year and recording 10 blocks and 34 steals on the season as well. Maddy Cunningham and Trenee Thornton each average 9.5 pts/gm for the Spartans, with Thornton also racking up a team-high 49 assists.

EASTON, Pa. - Nineteen points on five three-pointers, both career-high's from Rob Delaney led Lafayette to a comfortable 75-63 victory over Army on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. The win improved Lafayette to 2-0 in Patriot League play for the second time in the last three seasons.

Ryan Willen scored 13 and Levi Giese added 10 for the Leopards who were 14-of-25 from beyond the arc in the win. It marked the ninth time this season that Lafayette has hit for 10 or more three-pointers.

Dexter, Mo., native Alan Flannigan hauled in a rebound and hit a deep three for the Leopards during his five minutes off the bench.

Making his first appearance of the season, Tony Johnson made an impact on his first offensive possession off the bench. The junior guard received a hand-off from Delaney, took a dribble to his right and passed back across his body for an open Nick Petkovich three-pointer, giving Lafayette (7-10, 2-0) an 11-4 advantage. Johnson, who missed the Leopards' first 16 games with a back injury, finished the game with three points and four assists in 20 minutes.

With 12:40 showing on the first half clock, Lafayette took a 20-11 lead on Delaney's third triple of the half. Lafayette opened the contest perfect on its first six attempts from beyond the arc. After an Army bucket and Dan Trist's wide open layup, Army (7-10, 0-2) scored the next nine points to pull within two (22-20) with 8:17 to play in the half. Willen halted the spurt with a turnaround in the low block and Levi Giese's two-handed flush put Lafayette ahead 26-20 at 5:34.

The half ended with 25 combined turnovers between the teams, 13 for Lafayette, including Johnson's steal and scoop layup as time expired, giving Lafayette a 36-28 lead at the break.

Lafayette scored the first four points of the second half on a baseline drive by Jim Mower and a Hinrichs pull-up jumper to extend the lead to 12. Army then responded with a 7-0 spurt, cutting the deficit to 40-35 at 17:32 before Delaney connected on another three to end the Black Knights' run.

Joey Ptasinski's corner three extended the Leopards' lead to 47-35. Delaney's fifth longball made it 50-38 before the teams traded points for a three-minute stretch around the midway point of the second half.

A pair of threes from Mower and Petkovich surrounding Julian Simmons transition lay-in, pushed the lead to 62-47 with 7:14 remaining. Five straight points from Giese, a baseline jumper and a straightaway three, gave Lafayette its largest lead of the night at 67-49.

A free throw and layup from Ella Ellis and a Simmons three pulled the visitors within 11 with 3:05 to play, but Army wouldn't get any closer as Giese drilled a trey of his own to put the game out of reach. Ellis led Army with 18 points, while Simmons scored 12.

Lafayette returns to the court on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Bucknell in a rematch of last season's Patriot League Championship.

NOTES: Eleven of Lafayette's 13 players scored a basket on Wednesday.

For a full breakdown of the game's stats, click here.

Calling Monday’s 86-81 loss to Lewis and Clark a nightmare for the Three Rivers Lady Raiders would not be a stretch at all.

Why so?

Just moments after tipoff, forward Carolyn Overton took a hard fall and did not return for precautionary reasons, leaving the Lady Raiders without one of its top offensive threats;
Three Rivers then went scoreless from the field for the game’s first four minutes before Whitney Mills drained a 3-pointer to end the drought – but by then the Lady Trailblazers had seized the lead and the momentum;
Last but certainly not least, point guard Alex Hower went down with a knee injury in the closing minutes of the first half and did not return.

While the Lady Raiders rallied to tie the score late in the game, they never could get over the hump against Lewis and Clark.

“Words cannot explain,” Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk said with a rueful laugh. “You would just have had to be here to know what I mean.”

While Overton is day-to-day, Hower is having a MRI Tuesday and her status for the remainder is uncertain.

Losing the duo had a huge impact Monday night.

“When the kids saw Carolyn go down and saw Alex go down, that was a lot to overcome psychologically,” said Walk. “But the kids that were left, I’m super proud of them.”

The bad times started Monday with Overton’s injury right after tipoff.

“We lost our leading scorer and leading rebounder seconds into the game,” Walk said. “You can pretty well guess how that affected us.”

Overton’s loss may have triggered the Lady Raiders’ offensive funk, as the Lady Trailblazers held Three Rivers scoreless for the game’s first 4:02 and raced out to a 12-3 lead.

The Lady Raiders (6-8) battled back, cutting the deficit to 16-12 on Abby Ivie’s bucket with 13:05 left in the first half, but Lewis and Clark scored nine straight points and went up 25-12 on Latrice Taylor’s three-point play with 10:39 remaining in the opening session – and the Lady Blazers led 43-31 at the half.

“The first 10 minutes of this game was almost identical to the first 10 minutes of the second half of the Mineral Area game,” said Walk. “We finally got through that fog and then finally started playing. But the ballgame was lost in the first 10 minutes – but the kids never gave up.”

Indeed they didn’t.

Tara Porter’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 71-68 with 4:50 to go in the contest, and Monae Riley’s trey near the 3:26 mark tied the game at 73. However, Lewis and Clark retook the lead, and though Abbie Warren’s free throws cut that lead to 81-79 with 48.1 seconds left, the Lady Raiders could not complete the comeback.

“Granted we didn’t win this, but I am so proud of the way they battled second half,” Walk said. “We didn’t have a point guard on the floor the entire second half and the last few minutes of the first half. In one timeout I can remember telling them they were all point guards. Forty-six rebounds – we outrebounded them – but even after losing our leading scorer, we still scored 81 points.”

Mills led Three Rivers with 27 points, while Riley added 10 off the bench.

Claudette Maurice paced the Lady Trailblazers with 28 points, while Brascia Audain added 19, Taylor chipped in 14 and Monique Rigsby finished with 11.

The Lady Raiders are back in action Thursday when they travel to Shawnee. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Ullin, Ill.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - The Dexter Bearcats and Bloomfield Wildcats met in another Stoddard County Conference matchup on Tuesday night. The Bearcats took control of the contest early, and despite a late surge from Bloomfield went on to take a 61-46 victory.

Tyler Miller knocked in seven of the Bearcats’ 14 unanswered points to open the contest. The senior led Dexter with 23 points in the game.

”Right off the bat, the first few times he touched the ball, he drove the baseline and got layups,” DHS head coach Rob Nichols said of Miller. “He’s a good athlete, and when he attacks the rim and uses his athleticism he’s a really good player. It’s a welcome sight to see him do that tonight.”

“We started out pretty well, but we still struggled offensively early in the game. We guarded pretty well and got some turnovers, and that gave us some points,” Nichols continued. “Defense is where we really had a lot of intensity early in the game.”

Chase Young and Jordan Fitts both completed three point plays for the ‘Cats in the second quarter, but the Wildcats crept within six points at the 3:00 mark. Miller buried a deep three with just over a minute left in the half, and the Bearcat press forced a 10 second call on the ensuing inbounds pass to take a 29-18 lead into halftime.

Miller picked up a three point play early in the second half; Dexter’s defense continued to play well, with Young picking up two steals in the third quarter to help the Bearcats to a 47-25 advantage.

Tom Sanders drained a three for Bloomfield to open the fourth quarter and help pull the Wildcats back within 17 at the 6:50 mark, but the Bearcats responded with a seven point run.

The Bearcats transitioned into their delay game at the 1:30 mark, but the Wildcats were able to put up six points in the last 30 seconds of the contest to bring the final score to 61-46 in favor of the Bearcats.

“I think we lost focus at different points in the game tonight, but we did a good job when they made a run and got the crowd into it a little bit,” Nichols said. “The kids went down, got a few stops and went down and got good possessions on offense.”

“We had a little letdown there at the end,” he added. “We were trying to work on our delay game, but we had a few miscues, some sloppy stuff, but other than at the end of the game, I thought we handled it pretty well.”

In the JV contest, the Bearcats exploded out to a 37-13 lead at the half, and played great defense throughout the contest.

The JV Wildcats’ eight point effort in the second quarter was their best of the night, and the JV Bearcats picked up a 55-21 victory.

The ‘Cats will be back in action on Friday, when they face off against the Bernie Mules on Homecoming night. Nichols noted his team’s determination and focus on the county-heavy schedule leading up to the annual Stoddard County Tournament.

“What we’re looking at right now is our Stoddard County Conference play. We’ve got Bernie on Friday night, and Puxico coming up, then a game with New Madrid and it’s straight into the county tournament,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking at right now; the kids know that it’s important to them, and it’s important to the community; it’s what we’re focused in on right now.”

Tipoff for the Homecoming matchup is set for 6:00 p.m. from the Bearcat Event Center.