St. Vincent’s Hogan, Foley nearing end of stellar careers
Watch Erica Hogan play for a while and it’s easy to understand how the Saint Vincent College senior guard has scored over 1,200 career points for the Lady Bearcats. The Geibel Catholic graduate scored in almost every style imaginable in the Lady Bearcats’ 73-47 victory over visiting Daeman (N.Y.) College on Saturday, Feb. 15, avenging an earlier 68-67 loss. Hogan hit 3-point goals in the set offense, converted a defensive steal on the press into a breakaway lay-up and drove through Daeman’s defense for a slashing field goal.
When all was said and done against Daeman, Hogan tied Ringgold graduate Kristen Lancas with a team-high 21 points in her last regular season home game in front of a Senior Night crowd. She made the most of opportunities, going 7-of-10 from the field (4-of-6 from 3-point range) and 3-of-3 from the foul line. Hogan turned in a defensive gem as well with eight steals.
Connellsville’s Morgan Foley, Ford City graduate Cassandra Cutts and Greater Latrobe’s Loren Mueseler were also honored before their final home game.
Foley did the dirty work under the boards as she has done throughout her career, finishing with seven rebounds and eight hard-earned points.
The win over Daeman was a key victory for Saint Vincent because the Lady Bearcats now automatically advance to the NAIA Division II Championships held in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 12-18 as the American Mideast Conference North Division champions.
The men, ranked third nationally in NAIA Division II, also secured a spot in the national tournament to be held in Point Lookout, Mo., on March 12-18 with the AMC North Division title.
The Lady Bearcats (16-2, 22-10) finished the regular season with an 83-57 non-conference loss to Pitt-Johnstown, a NCAA Division II team. Hogan scored 15 while Foley added three in the season finale.
Saint Vincent will host the American Mideast Conference title game on Saturday against either Shawnee State or Cedarville. The men will host Cedarville in the second game.
Hogan, the daughter of Don and Johnetta Hogan of Uniontown, is an important cog in the success of the Lady Bearcats, running the offense, setting the tone on defense and scoring points from all angles from both the point and No. 2 guard position. The success is a concerted effort on her part to work on all aspects of her game and the program coached by Kristen Zawacki was perfect for her.
“Geibel Catholic was a small school and I didn’t want to go to a big college. I didn’t want to come in with expectations because I didn’t want to have a let down. Going from my senior year at high school into my freshman year in college, I worked on different aspects of my game,” said Hogan, a 3-point specialist in high school.
With the close of her four-year career less than a month away, Hogan looked back on her career with the Lady Bearcats with the hope of a national championship off in the future.
“I’m upset it’s over. This is a game we had to win. If we lost to Daeman we wouldn’t go to the national championship. That, on top of Senior Night, had us pumped,” Hogan explained.
Hogan is a sociology major and is currently pre-student teaching in the Mount Pleasant School District. She will be student teaching there in the fall, but might look for other career options should they present themselves.
“I’d like to explore the opportunity to keep playing basketball. I can’t imagine my life without basketball,” Hogan said, admitting it’s an option her mother might not be too fond of. She plans to find some way back to the sport whether it’s on the court as a player or on the bench as a coach.
Zawacki, winner of over 400 games, has seen a lot of strong players come through the program as the only coach in the school’s history. She let her thoughts about the local pair and the other seniors be known in her pre-game talk.
“I told the team before the game that Erica is the soul of the team and Morgan is the heart. Try to emulate the seniors in some way,” said Zawacki, who also lauded the efforts of Cutts and Mueseler.
“This is a close group. They’re great to coach. The leadership of the seniors is great. They’re phenomenal. They won’t be replaced. They’ll always be a part of our team. You can’t put a finger on what they bring to the team,” Zawacki said of her graduating foursome, the only class of the four to play in the national tournament.
Foley set her example by bouncing, pushing and shoving under the boards, a departure from her style in high school. Whatever she’s done has worked for the Lady Bearcats with over 800 career points.
“My game changed completely. I came in as a guard and coach made me a forward. I have a lot more confidence in my shot now. I’m not a pure shooter. The change helped my game,” said Foley, the daughter of Pat and Marta Foley of Connellsville.
She echoed Zawacki’s thoughts, adding, “We have such a good team concept here.”
Foley said she met and surpassed her goals as an incoming freshman.
“One goal was to get a good education and I met that goal. I wanted to bring the best out of me in basketball and I did. I’ve accomplished all my goals.”
A liberal arts/business management major, Foley wants to continue on in the sport as a coach at the college level. She is currently seeking opportunities as a graduate assistant.