2013-14 Women's Basketball ChampionshipEdinboro, PA – McComb Fieldhouse
Championship: #25 Edinboro 86, #3 Gannon 76
Sunday, March 9, 2014EDINBORO, Pa. – The Edinboro women's basketball team made it three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships in the last four years with an 86-76 win over Gannon on Sunday afternoon. The victory gives the Fighting Scots the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional set for this weekend. Edinboro, now 24-5, came into the weekend ranked 25
th in the latest USA Today Sports Top 25 and was third in the Atlantic Region. Gannon was ranked third nationally and first in the region. The Lady Knights fell to 27-3, with all three losses at the hands of the Fighting Scots. A noisy crowd of 1,726 viewed the action.
Valerie Majewski was named the Most Valuable Player of the championships after scoring a career-high 33 points, tied for the sixth-highest single-game total in the PSAC playoffs. She added eight assists one day after tying the school record and breaking the PSAC playoff record for assists with 16 against West Chester on Saturday, along with five rebounds.
The junior guard scored 23 of her points in the second half, including 19 of the team's final 28 points. That coincided with the game-deciding run for Edinboro. Gannon cut the lead to 56-54 midway through the second half on Jen Papich's driving layup. The Fighting Scots followed with an 11-3 run that built the lead to 67-57 with 7 minutes, 6 seconds remaining.
Gannon had one last run in it, as Brittany Batts hit her lone three of the game and Papich scored on another layup to close the gap to 72-68 with 4:02 remaining. The Lady Knights still trailed by just four points at 80-76 with 44 seconds to play, but they would not score again.
Majewski made a pair of free throws, and following a pair of Gannon misses
Lauren Hippo went to the line and made a pair. Majewski would come up with a steal and drop in two more free throws with eight seconds left for the final margin.
Both teams shot extremely well from the floor. In fact, each made 32 of 58 shots, good for 55.2 percent. Edinboro sizzled from beyond the 3-point line, making 10 of 16 three's, while Gannon was 6 of 16. The Scots went 12 of 17 at the line, Gannon 6 of 10. The Lady Knights held a 32-26 advantage on the glass.
The real difference came on turnovers. Edinboro was guilty of five turnovers while forcing 12 Gannon miscues. It led to a 14-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Majewski ended the day making 12 of 18 field goals, including 5 of 6 3-pointers, and was 4 of 6 from the line. She was one of four Fighting Scots in double figures.
Laurel Lindsay had 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while
Aignee' Freeland also scored 16 points, with 14 in the first half. Hippo added 11 points.
?
Papich turned in an outstanding performance in defeat for Gannon. The senior forward had 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with three assists and a pair of blocks. Mollie Sebald added 16 points and Kelley Sundberg 11.
Semifinals: Saturday, March 8, 2014
#3 Gannon 57, #14 Bloomsburg 51
EDINBORO, Pa. – In a rematch of the 2103 PSAC Championship game, third-ranked Gannon closed its contest with No. 14 Bloomsburg with a decisive 9-2 run to knock off the defending champions. Gannon won its fifth game in a row to improve to 27-2, while Bloomsburg saw its 17-game winning streak snapped and is now 24-4.
Gannon closed the first half on a 9-0 run, capped by Kelley Sundberg's 3-pointer, to take a 24-17 lead at the half. The Huskies scored the first basket of the second half, but the Lady Knights responded with another 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 33-19. Brittany batts accounted for the points with three 3-pointers.
Bloomsburg would whittle away at the lead and eventually took a 49-48 lead with 3:32 remaining on Taylor Kaminski's layup. It would be the last basket of the game for the Huskies, as they managed just two free throws the rest of the way.
Gannon answered with the next six points, all courtesy of Jen Papich. The senior dropped three of four free throws, then scored on a conventional 3-point play with 46 seconds to build the lead to 54-49. Bloomsburg would pull no closer than four points the rest of the way as the Lady Knights made three of four free throws.
Batts led Gannon with 18 points, making 5 of 11 3-pointers. Papich was the only other player in double figures with 14 points, adding six rebounds. Catherine Noack was the only player in double digits for the Huskies with 13 points. Bloomsburg was held to 32.0 percent from the floor (16 of 50).
#25 Edinboro 104, West Chester 82
EDINBORO, Pa. – It will be the top two teams in the PSAC West squaring off for the 2014 PSAC Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday afternoon. Edinboro, the number seed in the Western Division and ranked 25
th nationally, ran by West Chester 104-82 to set up a pairing with third-ranked Gannon, the West's number two seed, on Sunday afternoon at McComb Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. The Fighting Scots are now 23-5 and have won seven straight games. They seek their third PSAC crown in the last four years after winning in 2011 and 2012. West Chester ended the year at 19-9.
West Chester pressed the Fighting Scots for most of the game, and while that led to 14 turnovers, it also gave Edinboro numerous easy baskets. The Fighting Scots shot 54.1 percent for the game, including a sizzling 64.7 percent in the second half.
It was Edinboro who actually took advantage of turnovers, as the Golden Rams would turn the ball over 21 times, leading to a 30-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Edinboro never trailed in the game and would build a 20-point lead at 73-53 with just 12 minutes to play. The Golden Rams refused to fold, however, and used a 23-8 run to pull to within five points at 81-76 with 5:17 remaining.
Edinboro answered with the next 11 points in just over a minute-and-a-half, as four different players. WCU never pulled closer than 12 points the rest of the way, and Edinboro closed out the high-scoring affair with the final eight points.
All five starters scored in double figures for Edinboro, led by
Lauren Hippo's career-high 29 markers. The sophomore swingman made 5 of 11 3-pointers and added seven rebounds.
Aignee' Freeland contributed her 14
th double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while
Darche' Jackson also had 21 points, along with eight assists, six rebounds and five steals.
Laurel Lindsay had 14 points and six assists.
Valerie Majewski had 13 points and handed out a PSAC tournament record 16 assists. That figures ties the Edinboro single-game record.
West Chester showcased four players in double figures, with Brittany Sicinski totaling 26 points and seven boards. Dallas Ely, the leading scorer in the PSAC, had 16 points. Anna Kuntz had 13 points and eight rebounds and Kendall Benovy finished with 12 points.
Edinboro's 104 points is tied for the fifth-highest total in a PSAC tournament game.
Media CoverageTV: Pennsylvania Cable Network
Radio (Gannon):
WERG 90.5 FMRadio (Edinboro):
WFSE 88.9 FMLive StatsPSAC Championship: Edinboro University Personnel and InformationTICKETS Tournament Passes (three-game package) $14.00 Adult
$5.00 Students
Free admission for PSAC students with valid ID
Sunday Only Games$8.00 Adult
$3.00 Students
Free admission for PSAC students with valid ID
Directions to EdinboroPSAC CHAMPIONSHIP INFO PSAC Women's Basketball Championship CentralPSAC Women's Basketball Webpage2013-14 PSAC Statistics CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORYPSAC Championships History2012-13 Champions - Bloomsburg2012-13 PSAC Championship CentralPSAC Player and Coach of the Year AwardsPSAC Women's Basketball NCAA Playoff HistoryPSAC Women's Basketball Records PSAC Team Pages Edinboro Women's BasketballEdinboro Season Statistics@BoroAthletics West Chester Women's BasketballWest Chester Season Statistics @WCUAthletics Gannon Women's BasketballGannon Season Statistics@GUKnights Bloomsburg Women's BasketballBloomsburg Season Statistics@BUSportsinfo
