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Marlo Oyster and Tara Seiter, two senior members of the Mount Vernon Nazarene College women’s basketball team, will play the final regular-season home game of their careers when the Lady Cougars host Geneva (PA) College in an American Mideast Conference contest at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Oyster, a 5-foot-11 forward from Gahanna, Ohio, is a four-year letterwinner and a captain on this year’s squad. During her career, the former Gahanna-Lincoln High School standout has played in 107 games and recorded 310 points and 188 rebounds. As a sophomore, Oyster was named to the Geneva College All-Tournament Team and was selected as MVNC’s Cougar Award recipient.
This season, Oyster has played in 18 games and is shooting 58.8 percent from the field while averaging 1.7 points and one rebound per game. Her best game this season came at Walsh University when she scored seven points off the bench on 3-of-3 shooting from the field against the defending NAIA Division II national champions.
"Marlo has been a great asset to this program over the past four years," said head coach Steve Gregory. "Her work ethic along with her team-above-self attitude has set her apart from most and is a strong reason why her team selected her as a team captain."
"Marlo has successfully found and accepted her role on this team and has excelled at it," Gregory added. "She has been a spark plug off the bench for us several times this season, and she has been a solid contributor all year long."
Besides her performance on the court, Oyster exemplifies the term student-athlete in the classroom. A Psychology major, she has posted a 4.0 grade point average and has been named to the NAIA and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) All-America Scholar-Athlete teams.
"Marlo’s work ethic can also be seen in her academics with her perfect 4.0 in a very tough discipline here at MVNC," said Gregory. "I also take pride in her continued development off of the hardwood. She has been a great Christian role model and a real spiritual leader for us over the past four years."
Seiter, a 6-foot center from Waldo, Ohio, has excelled on the court for MVNC the past four years. The former River Valley High School star owns both the Lady Cougars’ career scoring (1,596 points) and rebounding (903 rebounds) records as well as six other career or season marks. Seiter has been an all-conference selection each year and a two-time NAIA Division II Honorable Mention All-American.
Seiter is wrapping up her career in fine fashion as she leads MVNC in scoring (18.2 points per game) and rebounding (9.5 boards per contest). She has connected on 53.4 percent of her field goal attempts while posting 25 blocked shots. Her top performance this year came at Ohio Dominican College when she pumped in a career-high 33 points - one shy of the Lady Cougars’ single-game scoring record.
"Tara’s attitude and mental perception for the game of basketball really sets her apart from most players," Gregory said. "Her tenacity on the floor coupled with her strength and mobility have helped shape her into one of the best post players to ever play at MVNC. Her season and career statistics certainly speak volumes of her as a player."
"Tara’s kind demeanor and leadership were heavily counted on for the 1998-1999 season, and has not disappointed," added Gregory. "She worked really hard in the off-season to aid in her skill development and showed marked improvement over the summer. Tara’s commitment to Lady Cougar basketball has helped to put her in the upper eschelon of players in the American Mideast Conference."
Like Oyster, Seiter has also done well off the court. An Elementary Education major, she has posted a 3.4 grade point average and was an NAIA and NCCAA All-America Scholar-Athlete last season.
"Tara has done a good job of balancing her studies while devoting a tremendous amount of time to basketball and her teammates," said Gregory. "She will be the standard by which we measure future post players here at MVNC. She has had a brilliant four-year career here at MVNC and is prepared to ride off into the sunset. My biggest disappointment is that I only got to coach Tara for one year."
Oyster and Seiter will be honored prior to the start of the Lady Cougars’ game against Geneva. An MVNC win over the Golden Tornadoes coupled with a Tiffin University loss at the University of Rio Grande would give the Lady Cougars the sixth and final spot in the AMC Division II Tournament.
