Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Sarah Liberatore shines at Florida Tech

Sarah Liberatore decided to make the move from a Division I program to one playing in Division II.

It looks like it was the right move for the former Hempfield standout.

Liberatore had a career game last week for Florida Tech, a D-II school in Melbourne, Fla.

A sophomore guard, she poured in 28 points in an 81-68 victory over Emery-Riddle.

She added five rebounds and was 5 for 5 from behind the 3-point arc. She finished 10 of 13 from the field in 38 minutes.

Not bad, especially when you consider she had 41 points all of last season at Marshall.

For the season, Liberatore is averaging 9.2 points in 22 minutes a game. She has started seven of 13 games for Florida Tech (3-10).

Illinois-Springfield: Freshman Brianna Zajicek (Norwin) scored a season-high 24 points, on 11-of-17 shooting, and grabbed four rebounds in a 72-65 loss to Southwest Baptist.

Marietta: Junior guard Olivia Gribble (Norwin) had a team-high 11 points in 25 minutes in a 61-42 victory over Mount Union.

She added 17 points, including five 3-pointers, in a 60-39 victory over Heidelberg as Marietta improved to 11-4.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats ran their winning streak to seven with an 88-63 victory over Geneva as junior guard Emily Cavacini scored a career-high 30 points, including four 3-pointers, to go with eight rebounds.

Seton Hill: The Griffins will welcome back former greats and alumni from a century of basketball as they celebrate 100 years of the program.

A Centennial Celebration will be Feb. 1 when the Griffins take on IUP at 5:30 p.m. There will be a pregame reception, former players and teams will be recognized at halftime and a postgame reception will serve as a meet-and-greet with coaches and players.

The Griffins held off Slippery Rock, 76-58, last week to improve to 11-6 overall and 4-4 in the PSAC as junior guard Christiane Frye scored a career-high 23 points.

Chatham: Junior Geoff Helm (Greensburg Central Catholic) had a season-high 18 points, five rebounds and five assists to help power the Cougars past Franciscan, 110-76.

A transfer from Shippensburg, Helm has played in seven games this season and is averaging 6.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

Pitt: Senior reserve forward Aidan Fisch (Franklin Regional), who made the team as a walk-on a couple of years ago, has appeared in six games for the much-improved Panthers (12-6, 5-2 ACC).

He has played 11 minutes and scored against Farleigh Dickinson.

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Octavius Hardy had 13 points, senior JoJo France added 12 and six assists, and senior Jaylen Willliams chipped in 11 as the Bobcats held back visiting Penn State Behrend — coach Chris Klimchock’s former team — 66-63.

Saint Vincent: Mid-year transfer Mike Iuzzolino, the son of former NBA guard Mike Iuzzolino, a former assistant coach at Saint Vincent and current assistant at Robert Morris, scored in double figures in four of his five games with the team.

In the most recent win, 72-60 over Geneva, he had 15, joining Osyon Jones (20) and Shemar Bennett (19) in double digits for the Bearcats (9-7, 5-6).

Seton Hill: Four players scored in double figures as the Griffins downed Slippery Rock, 84-77. Junior Sean Dillon (20), senior Samuel Tabe (19), senior Drew Green (13) and senior Jimmy Moon (12) led the way for Seton Hill (9-6), which connected on 12 3-pointers.

West Liberty: Junior standout Bryce Butler (Latrobe) was named the Mountain East Conference Player of the Week after he averaged 22.5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists over two wins for the Hilltoppers.

He had 21 points, nine rebounds and five steals against Concord, and he added 24 points and seven rebounds against Glenville State.

Wrestling

Army: Freshman Ethan Berginc (Hempfield/Jeannette) picked up another pin in a 52-0 win over Queens, N.Y., then followed with an 11-4 decision as Army toppled Gardner-Webb, 20-15.

Bucknell: Junior 133-pounder Kurt Phipps (Norwin) picked up a 5-3 decision as the Bison took seven of 10 bouts to defeat American, 28-10.

Iowa: Top-ranked 125-pounder Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) scored a first-period fall as the No. 2 Hawkeyes took care of No. 11 Northwestern, 27-9.

Thiel: Junior Frank Gill (Norwin) recorded a pin in 2 minutes, 23 seconds as the Tomcats defeated John Fisher, 26-21.

He added another, in 3:26, in a 31-17 victory over Pitt-Bradford.

Football

Seton Hill: Senior linebacker Jaylen McDuffie and senior offensive lineman Daniel Morales were named to the Don Hansen Division II All-American teams.

McDuffie was a first-team selection, while Morales was an honorable mention.

Western Michigan: Grad transfer Gio Vonne Sanders (Jeannette), who just completed his final season of college football, announced he is declaring for the NFL Draft.

Sanders, who played previously at St. Francis (Pa.), is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound defensive back. He appeared in nine games this past season.