Oglethorpe Women’s Hoops Takes Game to Italy
After recording the most successful season in women’s basketball history at Oglethorpe University by storming all the way to the Final Four, the women’s team will now travel from Atlanta to Italy to play some international basketball and brush up on a different type of history: Italian Renaissance art.

The team, along with head coach Ron Sattele, will fly to Rome this coming Thursday and will begin a two-week trek that will take them through Venice, Florence, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Along the way, the team will mix some studies in with a few games of basketball as Oglethorpe art professor Dr. Jeffrey Collins will be lecturing on Art and the Italian culture for course credit.

“This is a great opportunity for the team to bond while exploring the treasures of Italian art,” said junior guard Katie Kulavic of Norcross, Georgia. “Plus we get to play a few basketball games against international competition – something I’m really looking forward to,” she added.

 

The team staged a few fundraisers during the season to help raise money for what promises to be a life-enriching experience. In December, the team signed up over a hundred sponsors for a “free-throw-a-thon” where the women shot free throws into the wee hours of the morning. With each made shot the women added money to the trip funds.

 

“The free-throw-a-thon worked on a couple of levels for the team,” said head coach Ron Sattele. “First and foremost, it helped us raise the necessary money for the trip to Italy by getting friends of Oglethorpe athletics to support us. Secondly, though, I got to watch the young ladies work on their free-throws for hours on end, which, of course, is great practice for late-game situations.”

 

Between the on-site lectures on Italian art ranging from Da Vinci to Michelangelo delivered by Dr. Collins, the women will manage to lace up their high-tops and get a taste of semi-pro international basketball. Following a visit to the Guggenheim museum in Venice on May 22, the Stormy Petrels will take the court at Palasport to square off with Virtus Venezia in their first international game.

 

After traveling to Rome and gazing upon the Sistine Chapel on May 24, the women will suit up to face semi-pro titans Athena Basket in the Stella Azzurra sports hall. The team will then head to the coast to enjoy authentic Italian opera in Sorrento before facing POL Sorrento on the basketball court at Campo della Scuolo Media on May 27.

 

The team will return to Atlanta on May 29^th and will part ways for the summer. Undoubtedly, though, they will be looking to build off their Italian adventure in preparations for the 2008-2009 basketball season which promises to be an exciting one as the Petrels return seven of their top eight players from their Final Four run this season.

Grace Named to Final Four All-Tournament Team
Oglethorpe University junior Tina Grace of Pensacola, Florida was named to the 2008 Final Four All-Tournament Team for her performances last weekend in Holland, Michigan. Grace led Oglethorpe in two season-ending defeats on the campus of Hope College.

In Friday's National Semifinal game against Messiah College, Grace scored a game-high 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field and recorded 11 rebounds and 2 assists. Against Wisconsin-Whitewater the following afternoon, Grace scored 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 7 steals to her total.
 
For the weekend, Grace averaged 15.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists per game and 3.5 steals per game.
 
She joins Howard Payne University's Kimberly Hoffman and Meia Daniels, Messiah College's Nikki Lobach and Wisconsin-Whitewater's Tiffany Morton on the 2008 All-Tournament Team.

Women Finish Season Ranked #6 Nationally
The final D3hoops.com Women's Basketball Top 25 Coaches Poll was released late last night and Oglethorpe University will finish the season with their highest ranking in school history at #6 overall.

Voters took notice of  Oglethorpe's incredible postseason run that included road victories over #21 William Smith, #11 Kean Univeristy and #3 Thomas More College. The Petrels jumped an incredible 18 spots after entering the postseason ranked #24, the largest jump of any team in the final poll.

Whitewater Rebounds, Takes 3rd Place from Petrels
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team finished their most successful season in school history in defeat on Saturday afternoon, losing to Wisconsin-Whitewater, 80-67. The Warhawks were literally able to rebound from Friday's loss in the national semifinal, crushing Oglethorpe on the boards with their size, 69-30.

Despite the lobsided rebounding margin, Oglethorpe managed to lead 39-35 at the half and take an 8 point lead in the second half. Whitewater's superior size ultimately took its toll, though, and the Warhawks pulled away late.
 
All five Oglethorpe starters - Brittany Corbett, Katie Kulavic, Anna Findley, Tina Grace and Hannah Brooks - scored in double figures for the Petrels. Findley led the way with a game-high 21 points, followed by Kulavic and Corbett with 13 and 12 apiece. Both Hannah Brooks and Tina Grace scored 10 points, with Grace adding 6 rebounds and 7 steals.
 
The Petrels will have to say goodbye to graduating senior Brittany Corbett, but will return 6 of its top seven players including juniors Biz Richmann and Jamie Osmanson to a team that will doubtlessly be ranked in the Preseason Top 25 following their incredible Final Four run.
 
Oglethorpe finishes the season 27-7 overall, easily surpassing the team's previous record for wins in a season of 21.

Petrels Fall in National Semifinals
Oglethorpe University's women's basketball teams' incredible run through the 2008 NCAA Tournament came to an end on Friday night as Messiah College defeated the Petrels, 80-60. Despite the loss, the team will complete their most successful season in Oglethorpe women's basketball history tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when they play in the Third Place game.

In a battle of the birds, the Petrels and the Falcons traded baskets in the early going, with Oglethorpe jumping to an early 10-9 advantage. That's when Messiah College, however, made a move and went on a decisive 15-0 run from which Oglethorpe could never recover. The Petrels trailed by as many as 22 points in the contest before finally succombing by the final score.
 
Junior Tina Grace led all scorers with 21 points and 7 rebounds and Katie Kulavic, despite some early foul trouble, scored 14 points for Oglethorpe. The Petrels struggled to knock down shots against a swarming Falcon defense that held Oglethorpe to 34% shooting for the game.
 
The Petrels post-season run included thrilling victories over Piedmont, Thomas More, William Smith and Kean University before a veteran Messiah College team was too much to overcome. Despite the outcome, Oglethorpe will return seven of their top eight players in terms of minutes played for the 2008-2009 campaign that should see the Petrels comfortably ranked in the Preseason Top 25.
 
 

Petrels Soar into Final Four!
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team captured the school's biggest victory in any team sport on Saturday night by stunning the Kean University Cougars on their home floor in Union, New Jersey, 98-86. With the win, the Petrels will head to Holland, Michigan and the campus of Hope College to compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four.

The Petrels ran out early on the Cougars to put them on notice that this would be a game they would not easily win. The Cougars were forced to call the game's first timeout after Oglethorpe sprinted to a 15-8 early advantage. The Cougars managed to regroup, however, to match their largest lead of the half and take a 2-point 44-42 lead into the locker room.
 
Early in the second stanza, it looked as though Kean had found their stride and a basket by Chari Cooper at the 18:59 mark lifted the Cougars to their biggest lead of 6 points. The Cougar's lead would get no larger.
 
On the next four possesions, Oglethorpe rattled off 11 straight points to jump back into the lead by 6 points. From there, the Cougars got no closer than 5 points as the Petrels had an answer for every Kean basket.
 
In the decisive 11-0 run, the Petrels began with a beautiful 3-pointer by Hannah Brooks deep in the right corner. On the ensuing possesion, Katie Kulavic drove the lane and scored on a left-handed lay-up. Following that, junior guard Anna Findley buried 2 of her 8 three-pointers for the game and Oglethorpe had suddenly turned the tide.
 
Findley nearly toppled Julie Colantoni's record for most points scored in the game as she posted an astonishing 44 points on 13 of 22 shooting from the field including a wicked 8 of 10 from long distance. Colantoni notched 47 points against Rhodes in 2004 in a game that had neither the significance or the stage of this Sectional Final match-up. Findley also added 7 rebounds and 3 steals to her incredible stat line.
 
Junior All-American finalist Katie Kulavic had a superb all-around game with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Classmate Tina Grace nearly duplicated Kulavic's exploits with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists of her own. Junior co-captain Hannah Brooks added a steady 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 33 minutes of action.
 
With the win, Oglethorpe moves to 27-5 on the season and will brace to fly to Michigan for the NCAA's biggest stage of them all and the Final Four. The Petrels opponent and game time for Friday night's upcoming semifinal game had yet to be determined when this was written. Check back later for complete Final Four details.
 

Elite Company: Women Top William Smith, Advance to Sectional Final
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team kept the good vibrations going on Friday night, defeating #21 William Smith College, 69-63 to advance to the NCAA Division III Sectional Finals. The win propels Oglethorpe to the furthest a team has gone in team play at the championship level and leaves the Petrels one win away from heading to the Final Four.

Oglethorpe seized control of the game early, racing to a 10 point 14-4 lead after only 3:31 seconds of game action. Twice the Herons fought back to tie the score, first at 37-37 and again at 48-48, but the Petrels would fight back to put the game away.  On the evening, the Petrels never trailed the 21st ranked Herons.
 
For her second consecutive tournament game, junior guard Katie Kulavic went 10 of 14 from the field to lead all scorers with 23 for the game. Assisting the All-American finalist were Tina Grace with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Anna Findley with 13 points and a team-high 9 rebounds and senior Brittany Corbett who rounded out the Petrels in double-figures with 10 on the evening. Junior co-captain Hannah Brooks continued her stellar defensive play by nabbing a team-high 7 steals and grabbing 7 big rebounds for the Petrtels.
 
This team continues to write school history as the 26th win is the most ever by a team in school history. Additionally, the 5 Oglethorpe losses are the fewest in school history. The Petrels will look to make even more noise tomorrow night as they will square off with either host Kean University or the University of Chicag at 6:00 p.m with a trip to Holland, Michigan and the Final Four on the line.
 
 

Women Shock #3 Thomas More, Advance to Sectionals
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team stunned #3 and previously undefeated Thomas More College on their home floor on Saturday night, 65-55. With their second consecutive tournament win, Oglethorpe now moves to the NCAA Sectionals for the first time in school history in any team sport and will face William Smith on Friday night on the campus of Kean University in New Jersey.

Go here for more info: http://www.d3hoops.com/game-releases/2008/Mar/08/Thomas+More-vs.-Oglethorpe/u4od9w2zn966rx4k/25653

Women Win First NCAA Tournament Game in School History
The 2007-2008 Oglethorpe University women's basketball team wrote a piece of school history on Friday night by becoming the first team in school history to win an NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament game. The Petrels did so by toppling in-state rival Piedmont College, 91-78 on the campus of Thomas More College.

Making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the Petrels took control of this game from the start to secure the victory. A three-pointer by Jamie Osmanson with 11:25 remaining in the first half gave the Petrels a double-digit lead at 26-15 that they would never relinquish. Oglethorpe held an eleven point 49-38 lead at the half and extended all the way to a 21 point 63-42 advantage on a free throw by Katie Kulavic with 15:07 remaining. Under the steady guidance of head coach Ron Sattele, the Petrels cruised to the win from that point forward.
 
The Petrels were led by Kulavic's game-high 26 points and 4 rebounds. For the evening, Kulavic was a deft 10 of 14 from the field shooting the ball. Classmate Tina Grace was 7 of 9 from the field and 7 of 12 from the charity stripe to record 22 points and 5 rebounds.
 
Junior Anna Findley was 3 of 6 from downtown and recorded 14 points on the night. The Petrels lone senior, Brittany Corbett, reached double-fugures as well with 11 points and 2 rebounds.
 
Junior Hannah Brooks also had an outstanding game for Oglethorpe, drawing top defensive assignment and Great South Conference POTY Nickki Sosebee. Brooks held Sosebee to only 3 points and 6 rebounds, well below her averages of 12 points and 7 rebounds per game. Additionally, Brooks scored 8 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Jamie Osmanson came off the bench to hit two big three-point baskets for 6 points and junior Biz Richmann stepped in to corral 9 boards to go along with 4 points.
 
With the history writing win, Oglethorpe moves to 24-5 on the season and will get set to face the winner of Thomas More and Greensboro College in NCAA Tournament second round action tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.

Women Lose Nail-Biter to DePauw in SCAC Final
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team lost in the SCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Finals to DePauw University on Sunday afternoon, 72-69. For the second consecutive season, the Tigers were able to better the Petrels in the championship game, this time by the narrowist of margins.

In a game that saw neither team take larger than a 7 point lead, Oglethorpe found themselves down just one point with 35 seconds remaining. The Petrels played excellent defense against the Tigers and forced a missed shot by Cassie Pruzin to give Oglethorpe the ball with only 8 seconds remaining, trailing 70-69. Junior guard Anna Findley raced up the court looking for a game-winning shot, but two Tiger defenders surrounded her and knocked the ball away. The Tigers mad two free throws with .3 seconds remaining to secure the 72-69 championship victory.
 
Junior Katie Kulavic led all scorers with 22 points and added 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Classmate Anna Findley had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals and post presence Tina Grace added 14 points and 8 rebounds in the narrow defeat.
 
Despite the loss, Oglethorpe completed their most successful regular season in school history by finishing 23-5 overall with the 23 wins being the school's most all-time.
 
The Petrels will have an opportunity to add to their win total as they have been selected to compete in the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the third consecutive season and will face Piedmont College this Friday night in Florence, Kentucky.

Findley Named All-SCAC Second Team
Oglethorpe University junior guard of Hiram, Georgia, Anna Findley, was named to the 2007-2008 All-SCAC Women's Basketball Second Team.

Findley finished the regular season 8th in the conference in scoring (14.9 ppg) and led the league in both free throw shooting percentage (.886) and steals (3.74 spg). On February 9 against Sewanee, Findley tied the SCAC mark for steals in a game by thieving 11.
 
This is the second consecutive season that Findley has been named to the All-SCAC Second Team. In her freshman campaign in 2005-2006, Findley recieved an Honorable Mention.

Kulavic Named SCAC Player-of-the-Year
Oglethorpe University junior guard Katie Kulavic of Norcross was named the 2007-2008 SCAC Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Year. Kulavic became only the second woman in school history to receive the league's highest honor, matching Heather Francouer's same accomplishment from the 2002-2003 season.

A D3hoops.com preseason all-American, Kulavic finished the regular season averaging 16.6 points (fourth in the SCAC), 3.40 assists (sixth) and 1.96 steals per game (tied for 14th) and was also fifth in free throw percentage (84.3%) and led the league in field goal percentage (60.1%). If she maintains that standing throughout the postseason, she would be the first guard to lead the SCAC in field goal percentage since Alyson Welch of Millsaps College in 1993-94. A two-time SCAC Player-of-the-Week in 2007-08, Kulavic scored her 1,300th career this past weekend and is already 16th on the league’s all-time scoring list.
 
Kulavic was named an All-SCAC Women's Basketball First Team selection in each of her first two seasons at Oglethorpe before receiving the Player-of-the- Year honor this season

Petrels Headed Back to NCAA Championships
The Oglethorpe University women’s basketball team learned early Monday morning that for the third straight year they will be headed to the Division III Women’s Basketball Championships. After earning bids in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, Oglethorpe heads into the 2008 Tournament holding their best record in school history at 23-5 overall.

The Stormy Petrels will travel to Florence, Kentucky where Thomas More College will be hosting an opening round four-team pod that also includes Piedmont College and Greensboro College. Oglethorpe is slated to face Piedmont College of Demorest on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. as first round action gets underway.

Women Beat Buzzer, Hendrix
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team won an overtime thriller in the first round of the SCAC Tournament in Conway, Arkansas on Friday night to defeat host Hendrix College, 73-70. Down 2 with only four seconds to play, head coach Ron Sattele drew up some magic in the team huddle and Oglethorpe went 80 feet to tie the score on a Katie Kulavic lay-up as time expired.

In the overtime period, the Petrels calmly buried 8 of 9 free throw attempts to secure the unlikely victory.
 
Oglethorpe led by as many as 17 points in the first half before the Warriors staged their furious comeback. At the half, the Petrels held a 41-30 lead and Hendrix continued to dwindle the lead early in the second stanza.
 
The Petrels had the ball with the score tied at 62 when Warrior guard Wyvonne Hawkins stole the ball from Kulavic and scored a lay-up with only the 4 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, Biz Richmann found Hannah Brooks who fed Brittany Corbett who in turn found Kulavic behind the Warrior defense for the buzzer-beating lay-up that kept the Petrels goal of winning a conference championship alive.
 
Kulavic had 18 points and 4 steals while classmate Biz Richmann scored 15 points and added 13 big rebounds in the heart-stopping victory.
 
The Petrels are back in action at 8 p.m. e.s.t tomorrow night when they square off with Trinity in the SCAC semifinals.
 

Petrels Bound for SCAC Final
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team advanced to the SCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Final by defeating the Trinity University Tigers on Saturday night, 73-70. With the win, the stage is set for the top two teams in the conference to battle it out for supremacy as Oglethorpe will face DePauw University at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Petrel attack was spearheaded by three members of the junior class who each tied for a game-high 17 points in Katie Kulavic, Anna Findley and Tina Grace.
 
Kulavic, who learned at halftime she had been named SCAC Player-of-the-Year, added 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to demonstrate why she is worthy of such high praise.
 
Findley, voted to the All-SCAC Second Team, also grabbed 7 rebounds to go along with 2 steals and an assist on the evening.
 
Grace, who finished just out of reach for an All-Conference nomination, led the Petrels in the rebounding category with 9 to go along with her 17 points.
 
Oglethorpe, back in the SCAC final to face DePauw for consecutive seasons, will look to bring home the school's first ever conference championship in women's basketball when they tip with the Tigers tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. e.s.t.