Cygan sets scoring record at La Roche

By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor

PITTSBURGH — For Casie Cygan, the record became secondary.
The Butler graduate and La Roche College senior guard entered Friday night’s Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference semifinal needing 19 points to break the school’s women’s basketball career scoring record.
But her team trailed Pitt-Bradford, 29-28, at halftime.
“My teammates kept telling me before the game, ‘don’t think about the record, don’t think about the record’ ... I was thinking about the game,” Cygan said.
“The record was an individual thing. I definitely wanted it. But I wanted to win first.”
She got both.
Cygan struck for a career-high 35 points — 26 in the second half — as the Redhawks rallied for an 80-67 triumph over Pitt-Bradford.
Cygan sank nine of 13 shots from the floor — including four 3-pointers — and 13 of 15 from the free throw line. She contributed six rebounds and three assists as well.
“Casie did everything within the flow of the game,” La Roche coach Kami Gissendanner said. “When we needed her, she stepped up her game.
“I’m so proud of her. She deserves this.”
Cygan has 1,552 career points at La Roche.
The previous mark of 1,535 was set by Chantelle Jennings in 2011.
Cygan is one of eight 1,000-point scorers in the program’s history.
“We started getting the ball inside more in the second half, then kicked it back out,” Gissendanner said. “Casie kept getting herself open and delivering.”
Cygan said the points “just started to pile up. We’re always a better team when we work inside, then out.”
Fellow Butler graduate Mackenzie O’Donnell, a freshman post player, scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win.
La Roche hosts Mt. Aloysius — a 62-57 winner over Medaille in Friday night’s other semifinal — for the AMCC tournament title at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Redhawks are bidding for their fourth consecutive AMCC tourney title to go with four straight regular season crowns.
“That means a lot to me,” Cygan said. “I was one of 12 freshmen in the program four years ago and there’s only two of us left.
“Not many people can say they were a part of four league championship teams in college. We’re hungry for that.”
Cygan is averaging 18 points per game this season. The team’s other senior, Leslie McPherson, is also a starter and averages 5.4 points per game.
“You want to be playing your best basketball when the calendar turns to March,” Gissendanner said. “I feel like we’re doing that.”