PUC Chronicle

Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeremy Homan Jessica Hamman (50) attempts to stop a shot against the University of St. Francis offense. The Lady Peregrines season ended with a 77-50 loss to the Lady Saints Tuesday night on the road.

As senior center Jessica Hamman sunk a 3-pointer with a minute and a half remaining in the game the PUC bench went wild. Hamman ended the game, and her college career, with a season high of 20 points and 14 rebounds.
"I'm just glad our senior went out with a bang," said sophomore forward LaKeisha Hurst.
The Lady Peregrines, who finished 6-24 overall and 1-10 in their conference, traveled to the University of St. Francis, Tuesday evening for the first game of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament. Although PUC lost 77-50, they ended the season in good spirits.
"We had a great group of girls this year and fortunately we'll have all but one back next year. We'll miss Jess but hopefully we'll come back next year as a powerhouse," said junior guard Linsey Smith.
The Lady Peregrines got off to a good start and kept the score close, but midway through the half USF managed a 13-4 run and sprang ahead by 10 points.
PUC tried to force passes through the lane and accumulated 13 turnovers in the first half while the Lady Saints had only eight.
"We can't give turnovers. Attack them, move the ball," said Coach Smith during the first USF timeout.
The Lady Peregrines couldn't hold back the USF offense. The Lady Saints dominated the scoreboard and led by 16 at the half.
"We held them under their average again," said Head Coach Dennis Smith. "But we just missed too many shots."
At the start of the second half USF continued to attack the boards, connecting for 22 points from the field while PUC could manage only five. Smith was the only other Peregrine to reach double digits during the competition, adding six rebounds as well.
PUC refused to give up and both teams battled throughout the entire game. Aggression was high and junior forward Stephanie Peacock received a technical midway through the half.
The Lady Peregrines led in rebounds with 45, but shot only 28.8 percent from the field compared to USF's 44 percent. The Lady Saints took the game and ended the season for PUC, 77-50.
"It didn't happen for us this season but I'm looking forward to working on what we need to work on for next season," said Hurst.
Both Hamman and Smith were recognized in the CCAC as honorable mentions. Smith ended the season with 361 points, averaging 12 per game and ranked 11 in the CCAC individual standings. Hamman finished 13 overall, averaging 11.6 per game with a total of 325.

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