College Roundup St. Joseph’s Moran stands out in West Coast losses

By John Manley

Susan Moran reached a pair of personal milestones in St. Joseph’s of Philadelphia’s basketball game with 18th-ranked Stanford last Friday in California, but it’s safe to believe that the junior forward would forfeit both for a different outcome.

Moran scored a career-high 30 points, including the 1,000th of her collegiate career, but the Hawks lost to the Cardinals in overtime, 79-72. Moran, from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, made 10 of 17 from the field and was perfect on 10 free throws. She also put the clamps on nine rebounds, a team high.

"Sue has a great knack for getting to the basket," said St. Joe’s coach, Stephanie Gaitley. "I think that she has really improved her all-around game and she is difficult to defend because she has that jump shot. She backs away from no one. She is an unbelievable competitor."

St. Joe’s then headed south to Los Angeles, where they battled Southern California. Moran was 8-for-14 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the foul line for 29 points, but the Hawks lost, 66-55. Moran had six rebounds. St. Joe’s is now 1-1.

Manhattan College’s Siobhan Kilkenny was most effective coming off the bench and igniting rallies in her freshman season. Beginning her sophomore season as a starter, the Castlebar, Co. Mayo, product was ineffective in the Lady Jaspers’ first two games, both wins. In a reserve role against North-Carolina-Greensboro, Kilkenny clicked on 3-for-4 from the field and 1-for-2 from the line for seven points in 11 minutes. She also had an assist and two steals, although Manhattan lost 82-62.

Kilkenny was inserted into the starting five for Manhattan’s next outing, a 78-64 win over Richmond, but she had trouble finding her range. She scored 6 points on 3-for-13 shooting in 17 minutes. She also had two rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Lady Jaspers are 3-1.

Soccer

The two Irish coaches still alive after the first round of the NCAA Div. I soccer tournament appeared to be facing ideal conditions, their teams playing their second-round matches at home. Alas, there will be no third-round action for either Seamus McFadden or Trevor Adair.

McFadden’s University of San Diego Toreros were seeded fourth among the 32 teams that began the tournament. They fell to Creighton, 3-0, in San Diego, thus snuffing out a return trip to the final four. San Diego finished 16-2-2 for Donegal’s McFadden.

Adair’s Clemson Tigers hosted Connecticut in South Carolina. Regulation ended with the score tied at 1-1, and the Huskies scored the winning goal in the first overtime period to prevail, 2-1. The Tigers brought down the curtain on a 14-4-2 campaign. Adair is a Belfast native.