Women Top #4 Ranked Thomas More
The Oglethorpe University women's basketball team earned a huge non-conference victory on Monday night on Pinholster Court over the #4 ranked Thomas More College Saints, 72-64. In their last 38 games played, the Saints have only lost two contests and both have come at the hands of the Stormy Petrels.

Just last March, Oglethorpe prevailed 65-55 over Thomas More on their home floor in Kentucky to advance to the 2008 Sweet Sixteen. That defeat came with the Saints carrying a 29-0 record. On Monday night, the Saints faced the Petrels with another unblemished record of 8-0 before the Petrels snapped that streak.
 
After a tight first half that Oglethorpe managed to cling to a 1-point 28-27 halftime lead, the Petrels used an 18-6 burst to begin the second half to take control of the game. Leading the way for Oglethorpe was senior Anna Findley who led all scorers with 24 points on a scintillating 7 of 8 shooting performance from the field.
 
Oglethorpe senior Katie Kulavic added 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the huge win. Tina Grace also stroked 11 of 13 free throw attempts en route to rounding out the Petrels in double-figures with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
 
Alex Gee, Jayme Thiem and Nicole Dickman led the way for the Saints with 18, 16 and 12 points respectively.
 
With the win, Oglethorpe moves to 9-1 (2-0) on the season and will get set for SCAC play this Friday night when they travel to Memphis to square off with Rhodes College at 8:00 p.m.

Lady Petrels Defeat Transylvania 85-73
The Oglethorpe women's basketball team defeated Transylvania 85-73 Sunday to complete the Stormy Petrel Holiday Classic.

The game was close throughout much of the first half, and Oglethorpe led just 42-39 at the intermission. However, in the second half, the Petrels started pouring it on, outscoring the visiting team 43-39 to coast home with the win.
 
Anna Findley led all scorers with 25 points, including 5-9 from beyond the three-point arc. Biz Richmann also had an excellent game, knocking home 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
 
The Lady Petrels will next be in action Dec. 29, as they will take on Thomas More in a national showdown. This game will be a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament second-round game, which Oglethorpe won at Thomas More.

Men Rout Pitt-Greensburg in Stormy Petrel Classic
The Oglethorpe University men's basketball team defeated Pitt-Greensburg on Pinholster Court in Stormy Petrel Classic action on Saturday night, 88-71. Playing on consecutive days following a barn-burner that required all five starters to log over 32 minutes on Friday night, coach Phil Ponder got just what he needed when the Petrels began this game on a 25-4 run to remove any doubt.

The Petrels raced to a 53-24 halftime lead with lights-out shooting (20-32, 62%) and a pressure defense that forced 16 first half turnovers by the Bobcats. Oglethorpe built as big as a 34 point lead in the second half and, at one point, had made 30 of 45 shots for an incredible 66%.
 
With the blowout win, coach Ponder was able to sub freely and all 13 players on the roster logged at least 5 minutes of game action.
 
For the second consecutive night, junior Wade Weldon led all scorers by posting 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting to go along with 5 assists. Both David Allison and Todd Ward had perfect evenings from the field with Allison burying all 6 of his shots and Ward knocking down all 4 of his. Allison finished with 16 points and 5 steals while Ward posted 10 points and 9 rebounds. Alex Richey rounded out the Petrels in double-figures with 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and 4 assists.
 
Coming off the bench, both Eddie Buckley and Robertas Kleiva went 3 of 6 from the field as Buckley notched 8 points and Kleiva recorded 7.
 
With the victory, Oglethorpe is now 8-2 on the season and will get set to enter the rigors of SCAC play on January 2 at Rhodes College.
 
 

Stormy Petrel Classic Men's All-Tournament Selections Announced
The 2008 Stormy Petrel Classic All-Tournament Team was announced following games played this weekend on Pinholster Court. Voted on by the the head coaches of the participating schools, Oglethorpe University's athletics department would like to congratulate the players listed below for their outstanding performances this weekend.

2008 Stormy Petrel Classic All-Tournament Team:
 
Jason Banzhaf and Clark Hidelang of Catholic University
Wade Weldon and Alex Richey of Oglethorpe University
James Tyndal of Buffalo State
Josh Kucenik of Pitt-Greensburg
 
On the weekend, Catholic and Oglethorpe finished 2-0 in Classic play while Buffalo State and Pitt-Greensburg finished at 0-2.

Men Top Buffalo State in Stormy Petrel Classic Opener
The Oglethorpe University men's basketball team won their opening game in the 2008 Stormy Petrel Holiday Classic over Buffalo State on Friday night, 73-70. In a tight contest that saw neither team claim a larger lead than five points, the Petrels shot a scorching 64% from the field in the second half to claim the victory.

This game featured two teams with vastly divergent styles: the Bengals look to attack the rim and beat you in transition while the Petrels prefer to wear teams down with their constantly flowing motion offense. Both styles worked on Friday night to some degree as Buffalo State was able to lob over the smaller Petrels for alley-oop dunks and Oglethorpe was able to find open shooters within their offense.
 
Down the stretch, the Petrels made just enough plays to claim the victory, including consecutive possessions where junior guard Wade Weldon got free from his defender to score big baskets.
 
For the night, Weldon led all scorers with 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds. Sophomores Todd Ward and Alex Richey each netted 15 points with Ward snagging a game-high 9 rebounds. David Allison tallied 13 points on an economical 6 of 9 shooting performance and Joe Kennedy nearly placed all five starters in double-figures, coming up one short with 9 points.
 
With the victory, Oglethorpe is now 7-2 on the season and will get set to face Pitt-Greensburg tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. on Pinholster Court to close out the 2008 Stormy Petrel Holiday Classic.

Lady Petrels Take Down St. Norbert 82-69
The Oglethorpe women's basketball team delivered perhaps their most complete performance of the season on Friday night, defeating visiting St. Norbert 82-69 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate.

The Lady Petrels used a 21-6 run over an eight-minute period near the end of the first half to turn what had been a 19-19 game into a 40-25 margin with 3:36 left in the half. Oglethorpe enjoyed a similar margin at halftime, as they led 42-30.
 
Oglethorpe essentially kept St. Norbert at arm's length in the second half. The visiting Green Knights whittled the lead down to 52-42 with 13:34 remaining in the game. However, the Lady Petrels went on a quick 8-2 run over 3:24 and a longer 18-10 run over then next 8:11 to effectively put the game away.
 
St. Norbert did cut the lead back to 10 with 3:23 remaining, running off a 10-2 run of their own. But from there, the Lady Petrels closed out the game with relative ease.
 
Katie Kulavic led the scoring with 25 points on the night. Tina Grace had an excellent game, scoring 20 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing four assists and swiping five steals. Anna Findley added 16 points and Biz Richmann threw in 10.
 
Kristy Pelky was the leading scorer for St. Norbert, dropping in 17 points and going 9-9 at the free-throw stripe.
 
The Lady Petrels are next in action Sunday, as they will take on Transylvania in the final game of the Stormy Petrel Holiday Classic at 2 p.m. 

Game Times Changed for Stormy Petrel Holiday Classic this Weekend
Game times for this weekend's Stormy Petrel Holiday Basketball Classic have been changed due to LaGrange College being unable to attend. Please note these important changes to the schedule for Friday, Saturday and Sunday below.

Friday:
4:00 p.m.: Catholic versus Pitt-Greensburg men.
6:00 p.m.: Oglethorpe versus St. Norbert women.
8:00 p.m.: Oglethorpe versus Buffalo State men.
 
Saturday:
2:00 p.m.: St. Norbert versus Transylvania women.
4:00 p.m.: Catholic versus Buffalo State men
6:00 p.m.: Oglethorpe versus Pitt-Greensburg men.
 
Sunday:
2:00 p.m.: Oglethorpe versus Transylvania women.

Cleary, Komic Named Petrels Council's November Athletes-of-the-Month
Oglethorpe University freshman cross country runner, Beth Cleary and senior soccer player, Amel Komic, have been named by the Petrel Council as the Oglethorpe University Athletes-of-the-Month for their outstanding performances in November.

Cleary, of Duluth, Georgia, recorded her fastest course run of the year at the SCAC Championships held in Memphis, Tennessee. The superb time she turned in at the season's biggest event was good for 15th all-time on the fastest times ever recorded list by an Oglethorpe University women's cross country runner.
 
Komic, also hailing from Duluth, was named SCAC Player-of-the-Week for games played from November 3 - 10 after concluding his career on the pitch at Oglethorpe in style. In his final two home contests against Austin College and Colorado College, Komic recorded a whopping 4 goals and 1 assist for a total of  9 points.
 
The Petrel Council and the Oglethorpe University athletics department would like to congratulate both Cleary and Komic for their outstanding performances in the month of November.

Miller Selected to 2008 SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team for Volleyball
Oglethorpe University sophomore setter, Hilary Miller of Memphis, Tennesseee, has been selected by the head volleyball coaches of the SCAC to the 2008 Volleyball All-Sportsmanship Team.

Miller, who seemingly does everything head coach Kurt Matthews asks with purpose and passion, was  an easy selection to the 12-member team.
 
The SCAC is placing a special emphasis on sportsmanship this year – asking all fans of the conference to exhibit good sportsmanship at all conference functions throughout the 2008-2009 season.
 
Each head coach was asked to elect one member from his or her team who displayed good sportsmanship throughout the season.

#23 Centre Slips Past Oglethorpe
The Oglethorpe University men's basketball team lost to the #23 Centre College Colonels on Sunday afternoon on Pinholster Court, 64-59. Despite leading by three at the half, 34-31, the Petrels were done in by an off-shooting performance in a second half that saw Oglethorpe only connect on 8 of 29 shot attempts.

The Petrels began the second half with a couple of quick baskets to post a 7 point lead at the 18:52 mark but the Colonels responded with a game-changing 11-0 run from which Oglethorpe could never overcome. After hitting 5 of 10 three-point attempts in the first half, the Petrels could only connect on 1 of 8 in the second stanza, largely contributing to their demise on this Sunday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Todd Ward continued his outstanding play, however, in posting a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals. Joe Kennedy was the only other Petrel in double-figures with 17 points and 5 steals.
 
With the result, Oglethorpe is now 6-2 (1-1) on the season and will have twelve days off before lacing them up against Buffalo State at 6:00 p.m. on December 19 on Pinholster Court.

Petrels Run Past Colonels
The #2 ranked Oglethorpe University women's basketball team continued their winning ways on Sunday afternoon by topping Centre College on Pinholster Court, 83-67. Despite a slow start that saw the Petrels trailing 23-12 at the 11:51 mark, Oglethorpe closed the half on a 35-16 run to seize control of the game.

Up 8 at the break, Oglethorpe continued to apply pressure to the Colonels and after a made three-pointer by Anna Findley at the 6:00 minute mark, the Petrels had their largest lead of 18 points.
 
Findley led 4 Petrels in double-figures with 19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Three other senior starters, Katie Kulavic, Tina Grace and Hannah Brooks each tallied 12 points to lead Oglethorpe to their second straight conference victory. Brooks finished with a game-high 9 rebounds and now stands alone in 4th place all-time in that category for Oglethorpe.
 
With the victory, Oglethorpe moves to 6-1 on the young season and will have 12 days off to focus on exams before taking to the hardwood again on Pinholster Court on December 19 in a battle against Transylvania that tips at 8:00 p.m.

Petrels Pull Off Stirring Comeback Win
The Stormy Petrels came from behind on Friday night for a rousing victory, defeating DePauw 67-63 in the first SCAC conference game of the season.

Oglethorpe was down by as many as 12 points in the first half, and they frankly could have been down by a much larger margin. They had only four points with seven minutes left in the half, and at that point were shooting just 13.3%. DePauw wasn't taking particularly good advantage of Oglethorpe's poor shooting, though, as they only shot 37.5% themselves for the half.
 
Oglethorpe was able to mount a bit of a rally at the end of the half and went into the locker room down 27-18. They finished the half on 31% shooting, and were 0-11 from three for the half.
 
However, the Petrels came out of the locker room blazing. They outscored DePauw 49-36 in the second half, quckly coming back to tie the game and take the lead, and had a 13-point advantage with 6:57 left in the game before DePauw started coming back at the end.
 
The Petrels shot 57.1% and were 4-10 from three in the second half. Joe Kennedy scored all 20 of his points in the half, as well, and finished with four rebounds and four assists. Todd Ward had a double-double, with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and David Allison showed well with 15 ponts and four assists.
 
With the win, the Petrels improve to 6-1 on the year, and are off to a 1-0 start in SCAC play. The loss drops DePauw to 3-3, 0-1 in conference play.
 
The Petrels will next be in action Sunday against No. 23 Centre. The game will start at noon from Dorough Field House.