Published: March 25, 2008 09:45 am         

Carney, Huffman finish careers

TRAVERSE CITY -- There's no easy way for a collegiate career to end, but the NCAA Tournament isn't a bad place to exit.

DePaul senior forward Erin Carney had a team-high eight rebounds to go along with two points and one assist as the Blue Demons lost 76-57 to Marist on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It was the fourth straight trip to the "Big Dance" for the graduate of TC St. Francis.

For the season, Carney averaged 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while playing in 20 games -- seven starts -- for DePaul (20-12). She also had 33 assists, 19 steals and four blocks.

Carney, whose final two seasons were interrupted by injury, averaged 5.7 points and 7.6 rebounds as a junior. She also contributed 51 assists, 25 steals and six blocks in 19 games, 12 of which were starting assignments.

Statistically, Carney's best season was her freshman campaign when she averaged 6.7 points and 7.4 rebounds and had 50 assists, 39 steals and three blocks in 30 games (27 starts).

-- Another area standout whose collegiate career ended with a tournament loss was Brown senior guard Damon Huffman (Petsokey). The Bears lost 80-74 to Ohio on Tuesday in the first round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

Huffman did go out with a big bang, pouring in a career-high 39 points. Huffman tied a Brown school record with nine 3-pointers in addition to having three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Junior forward Scott Friske (Charlevoix) had seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Bears (19-10).

An all-Ivy League performer, Huffman averaged 15.8 points and hit 45.1 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point line. Huffman also pulled down 3.1 rebounds a game and had 48 assists and 35 steals in starting all 29 contests.

Huffman leaves Brown as the school record holder in 3-pointers with 232, eighth-best in the Ivy League. His 1,296 career points rank him eighth on the Bears' all-time scoring list.

Friske played in 29 games, 15 of which were starts. He averaged four points and 3.3 rebounds to go along with 60 assists, 28 steals and 10 blocks.

-- Evansville opened the Missouri Valley Conference portion of its baseball season with a 9-8 win over Bradley on Friday. Sophomore catcher Andy Pascoe (TC Central) helped lead the Purple Aces on offense, going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and one run.

Pascoe scored a run in Saturday's 9-6 loss to the Braves and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in an 11-6 defeat on Sunday. Evansville is 2-17 overall.

-- Notre Dame is a fourth seed in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament's West regional. The Irish (24-15-4) face top-seeded New Hampshire (25-9-3) at 6:30 p.m. On Friday.

Junior center Justin White (TC West) had four goals and seven assists while playing in 39 games for Notre Dame.

-- The Alma College women's tennis team improved to 9-3 by beating Adrian 6-3 on Thursday in its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opener.

Junior Emily Noss (TC Central) won both of her matches against the Bulldogs. She won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 6 singles and 8-3 at No. 3 doubles.

-- The Central Michigan gymnastics team closed out the regular season with a 193.050-192.775 triumph over Western Michigan on Friday.

Junior Kyla Krygier (TC Central) tied for third on the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.7. Krygier was eighth in the balance beam with a 9.6 for Central (7-11).

-- Lake Superior State sophomore Ashley Quick (Harbor Springs) was second in the 5,000 meters (19:08.52) at the 13th annual Dick Small Invitational on Friday in Defiance, Ohio.

Freshman Chelsea Childs (Inland Lakes) posted a pair of Top Ten finishes for the Lakers, taking fourth in the 400 (1:10.82) and 10th in the 200 (29.69).

For Albion, senior Elise Ocelnik (Bear Lake) was sixth in the triple jump (26'1/4") and seventh in the long jump (13'). Freshman Rebecca McMurray (Petoskey) was eighth in the high jump (4'4") for the Britons.

-- Freshman Robbie Harman (TC Central) saw his first action with the Central Michigan University baseball team in the Chippewas' 14-8 triumph over Wayne State on Thursday.

Harman, who had just finished his second season with the CMU basketball team, went into the game to play center field in the final inning. Harman caught the final out of the contest for the Chippewas (6-13, 1-2 Mid-American Conference).

-- Hope College concluded its spring trip by competing in Saturday's Emory Invitational.

Junior Sarah Kibbey (Glen Lake) was eighth in the triple jump (33'1 3/4") for Hope.

-- Valpariaso opened Horizon League play by splitting a doubleheader with Wright State on Friday, winning 6-5 and losing 8-7 in 10 innings. Senior catcher Joe Lazar (TC Central) scored a run for the Crusaders (5-15) in the nightcap loss.

-- The University of Michigan men's golf team finished 10th among 14 teams at the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga., which ended on March 16.

Junior Bill Rankin (TC Central) tied for 51st with a 229 for the Wolverines. Rankin opened the tourney with two 76s before closing with a 77.