Story Courtesy of athletics.lycoming.edu
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – With a winter storm set to cause hazardous road conditions in Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, the MAC Commonwealth has moved its championship semifinals to Thursday, Feb. 21. The second-seeded Lycoming College women’s basketball team will face third-seeded Widener University at 7 p.m. in Lamade Gym.
The winner of Thursday’s game will advance to the championship final on Saturday, Feb. 23. They will face the winner of the other side of the bracket, as No. 4 Arcadia faces No. 5 Lebanon Valley on Monday, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 Messiah at 7 p.m. Thursday at Hitchcock Arena.
All MAC Commonwealth Championship games will have admission set for $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and children under six-years-old are free. Lycoming students will be admitted free with their ID and MAC athletic passes will be accepted at the gate. Lycoming athletic passes will not be accepted.
The Warriors (17-8 overall, 11-5 MAC Commonwealth) finished second in the conference, its best finish since joining the Commonwealth side of the league in 2007-08, as it reached 17 wins and tied the school-record with 11 conference wins for the second straight year. The Warriors lead the conference in field goal percentage (.417) and are second in field goal percentage defense (.349), blocked shots (4.32) and assists (14.92).
Two Warriors are inside the top 10 in the conference in scoring and rebounding, with junior Kayla Kline(Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) sixth in scoring (14.8) and fifth in rebounding (9.0) and sophomore Erica Lutz(Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) eighth in scoring (13.2) and third in rebounding (9.2). The pair are also 1-2 in the league in field goal percentage, with Lutz first at .498 and Kline second at .478. Junior Akilah McFadden(Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) is 11th in the league in scoring (12.4), fifth in assists (3.0), fourth in steals (2.4) and ninth in blocks (1.0).
The Pride (19-6 overall, 10-6 MAC Commonwealth) lead the MAC Commonwealth in scoring (70.6), 3-point field goal percentage (.340), free throw percentage (.746) and assists (17.04). Junior Devan Rimmer leads the conference in scoring (20.0) and sophomore Madison Ireland leads in assists (7.2).
The two teams have engaged in two instant classics this season. In the first meeting, the Warriors edged out Widener, 66-65, with Kline hitting a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left and in the second meeting, the Pride edged Lycoming, 68-67, on Feb. 16.
