JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Former Cedar Crest standout Allison Smith leaves Niagara, will join former Penn Manor star Kelsey Caruthers at St. Francis (Pa.)
Don’t look now, but there is a really nice pipeline taking shape from the Lancaster-Lebanon League to St. Francis University’s women’s basketball program.
First, former Elco star and Penn Manor coach Ashli Schwab left the Comets’ program after just one season to take a job as an assistant coach at St. Francis – under first-year coach Susan Robinson-Fruchtl, a former Penn State player and coach.
Then Schwab helped recruit Penn Manor standout Kelsey Caruthers, who won the L-L League scoring title in her senior season.
And now another former L-L League standout, former Cedar Crest star Allison Smith, is headed to St. Francis.
Smith had a terrific senior season for Cedar Crest two years ago, averaging a team-best 14.0 points a game and helping the Falcons reach the District 3 Quad-A quarterfinals and win a pair of PIAA playoff games.
She finished her high school career with 1,137 points – seventh-most in the history of the program.
Smith earned a scholarship to Division I Niagara, and she played for one season there before deciding to transfer to St. Francis.
Schwab has since resigned her post at St. Francis, but she played a key role in getting Caruthers and Smith there.
St. Francis plays in the Northeastern Conference along with Central Connecticut State, Farleigh-Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY) and Wagner.
St. Francis went 3-15 in the conference and 6-23 overall last season.
