Holy Family

Kelly Killion scored 22 points as Holy Family (29-2) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional with a 78-65 win over the College of Saint Rose (21-9) last night at Southern Connecticut State. The Tigers, seeded fifth, will face top-seeded Southern Connecticut at 7:30 tonight in the semifinals, a rematch of last season's semifinal that was won by SCSU, 58-41. Sophomore guard Melissa Brooks had 17 points for Holy Family, while senior center Megan Bauer had 12 points a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Holy Family women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to top seed Bentley, 84-73, in the Division II East Regional championship game in Waltham, Mass., Monday night. The sixth-seeded Tigers led by as many as 12 points early in the game only to falter to a determined Falcons squad, which broke through in the second half. The Tigers closed the gap to two points late in the game and then went cold. Bentley (30-3) took a 76-71 lead with two minutes to play and controlled the action the rest of the way. Holy Family, trying to play catch-up, got caught in a cycle of missed shots and forced fouls.

Some members of the East Torresdale Civic Association Monday night criticized the group's recent settlement of a lawsuit against Holy Family College. Among other things, the college made a $3,000 contribution to the civic group as part of the settlement, attorney Richelle Hittinger told members at their monthly meeting. The association had filed the lawsuit in July, seeking closure of a Frankford Avenue driveway to a parking lot at Frankford and Stevenson Lane that was expanded in December during construction of a new college building.

Thoughts of another long, unbeaten regular-season streak for Holy Family were quickly extinguished in the Tigers' first game last weekend, when the Division II powerhouse fell to host New Haven, 69-68, on a shot in the last 18 seconds in Connecticut. "We're not as good as we were last year, but we'll try to work each game to get back where we were," coach Mike McLaughlin said. Holy Family went 32-1, losing in the title game of the Division II regional tournament. Although Kelly Killion graduated, McLaughlin said the Tigers will rely on sophomore forward Catherine Carr, the reigning rookie of the year in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Holy Family men's basketball players Mike Glitz and Jim Schultice recently received honors for their outstanding play. Glitz, a 6-foot, 6-inch junior center from Lincoln High School, was named Player of the Week from the NAIA District 19 for the period ending Jan. 12. He averaged 16.3 points and 13.3 rebounds a game in three contests that week. Glitz leads the Tigers, who won 10 of their first 15 games, in scoring with 18.1 points a game and in rebounding with 17.2 a game. Schultice, a 6-5 sophomore forward from North Catholic, was honored with the Sam Cozen Award as Small-College Player of the Month for January by Delaware Valley area coaches.

If Holy Family is to realize its dream of playing in the NAIA Softball World Series, it will have to take the long road. The Tigers, who split a pair of games yesterday in the Northeast Atlantic Regional, are faced with the daunting prospect of winning three games today to reach the next level. Holy Family, the tournament's host and No. 2 seed, opened the four-team, double-elimination competitionwith a crisp 2-0 victory over No. 3 Georgian Court of Lakewood, N.J. The Tigers then dropped a 6-5 decision to top-seeded St. Joseph's of Standish, Maine, in the second round.

Holy Family ran into the same brick wall. The Lady Tigers dropped a 74-61 decision in the NAIA Bi-District XII title game last Tuesday night to Wingate College, the same team that ended Holy Family's season the previous two years. Wingate (27-5) advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament Friday through next Tuesday in Jackson, Tenn., while Holy Family ended its season at 30-3. Holy Family coach Mike Soroka promised a different look from the last time his Lady Tigers appeared at Wingate's Cuddy Arena, a 95-41 loss in 1988.

A difficult one-run loss knocked Holy Family from the winner's bracket of the NAIA Northeast Atlantic Regional softball tournament on Wednesday. Another one ended the best season in Tigers history yesterday. Georgian Court rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit with a single run in the second inning and two more runs in the third to nip Holy Family, 3-2, in the four-team double-elimination tournament on the Tigers' home field. Holy Family, which had fallen into the losers' bracket after a 6-5 loss to St. Joseph's of Standish, Maine, one day earlier, finished the season at 36-9.

Holy Family overcame shaky shooting with dominating defense last night as it outlasted Dominican, 56-45, to capture the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's basketball championship. The victory, accomplished at the University of the Sciences, gave the Tigers the conference's automatic berth into the NAIA Division II national tournament, which begins March 8 in Sioux City, Iowa. Holy Family (29-3), the fourth-ranked NAIA Division II team, will be making its fifth straight appearance in the nationals.

Holy Family women's basketball coach Mike McLaughlin collected his 400th victory last night as the Tigers beat the University of the Sciences, 64-47, in a Central Atlantic College Conference game at the Bobby Morgan Arena in University City. In his 14th season, McLaughlin became the fastest to reach 400 wins at any level in his sport. His Tigers compete in Division II. "I give our team a lot of credit," said McLaughlin, whose record at Holy Family is 400-59. "Our players knew they could be part of history, but they stayed focused on what we wanted to do. " Christine McCollum scored 20 points for the Tigers (19-4, 12-0 CACC)

The University of the Sciences defeated Philadelphia University, 4-3, after falling to Georgian Court, 5-0, Thursday in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference softball tournament at Georgian Court in Lakewood, N.J. In the Philadelphia U. game, Haley Kavelak's walk-off single capped the Devils' comeback from a 3-0 deficit. Courtney Spina (Garnet Valley) became the Devils' all-time leader for strikeouts with 334. Jackie Keifer (Archbishop Prendergast) hit her first collegiate home run in the second inning, a two-run shot.

Neumann-Goretti point guard Hanif Sutton has committed to play basketball at Ursinus. Sutton helped lead the Saints to a 23-6 record and their fifth straight Catholic League championship this season. The 5-foot-9 senior earned third-team all-league honors. Sutton, who excels as an on-the-ball defender, also received interest from East Stroudsburg, Holy Family, and Lock Haven. - Rick O'Brien

Archbishop Ryan High School in the Northeast and Holy Family University today unveiled a new partnership that includes a dual-credit program. Archbishop Ryan students who complete Holy Family courses offered on Ryan's campus on Academy Road will receive both high school and college credits for their work. "Today marks an historic moment in our school's 47-year history," Ryan's President Michael McCardle said at a signing ceremony carried live on the websites of both Ryan and Holy Family University.

The Holy Family women's basketball team won its second straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship, beating Caldwell, 66-56, on Saturday at University of the Sciences. It was the Tigers' seventh CACC title since 2001. The Tigers' Erin Mann (Villa Maria) was named MVP for the second straight year after scoring a game-high 26 points. Kelly Brady (Ocean City) recorded her eighth double-double of the season after scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds.

Alberto Munoz scored his 1,000th career point as host Holy Family (11-8, 7-3 CACC) pinned a 69-64 defeat on visiting Bloomfield (10-9, 8-3) Saturday in Northeast Philadelphia. Munoz finished with 14 points. Ervin Ezell (Deptford) had 13 points. Elsewhere:     Nelson Torres (Cherokee) hit a jumper with 2.6 seconds left to give host Immaculata (10-8, 9-2 CSAC) a 57-56 win over Baptist Bible (4-15, 2-10). . . . Rashaad Slappy (M.L. King) had 20 points to lead visiting Cheyney (8-9, 6-7 PSAC)

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Holy Family women's basketball team was a recipient of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma's generosity and a victim of the Huskies' might in an exhibition game Wednesday night at the XL Center. The Tigers from Northeast Philadelphia, ranked 12th in the Division II coaches' preseason poll, held their own early before UConn asserted itself and rolled to a 119-50 victory. Seniors Erin Mann and Ana Cruz each scored 11 points for Holy Family. "We came here to get better, and I think we did that," Cruz said.

The Holy Family women's soccer team exploded for four goals on its way to a 4-0 victory over visiting Bloomfield in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest Saturday at Tiger Field. Melissa Benson (Little Flower), Jenn Richards (Conwell-Egan), Marie Bisirri (Nazareth Academy) and MaryKate Morris (St. Hubert) scored for the Tigers (3-9-0, 3-5). Rowan improved to 8-2 overall with 2-0 victory over Montclair State. Morgan Muracco (Washington Township) and Nina Fragoso (Delsea)

At its monthly board meeting Friday, the Philadelphia Housing Authority approved a deal for Holy Family University and a development partnership to convert 32 vacant acres in Northeast Philadelphia into athletic fields, university housing, and affordable senior apartments. About two-thirds of the land - formerly the Liddonfield public-housing complex - will be used for four athletic fields for the private, Catholic university, which has its main campus on Torresdale Avenue. Charles Calvanese, one of the partners in the project, said the development group needed to complete negotiations with PHA on details of the project.

Holy Family University could soon take over the 32-acre site of the former Liddonfield public housing project in Northeast Philadelphia to develop athletic fields and university buildings, as well as shops and assisted-living senior housing. The one-member board of the Philadelphia Housing Authority is expected to vote Friday on a resolution to sell the property to Holy Family, said Nichole Tillman, a housing agency spokeswoman. She did not provide further details. In an innovative deal, the university would pay PHA $4.2 million, plus make available $1,040,000 in scholarships for PHA students.