Grove City, W&J to meet in Saturday's PAC title game

Grove City, W&J to meet in Saturday's PAC title game

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GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--No. 2 Grove City College and No. 4 Washington & Jefferson College each secured spots in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament title game with convincing semifinal victories Friday.

No. 1 Saint Vincent College is hosting this year's semifinal round and title game at the Robert S. Carey Student Center. With the league's double-bye format, both No. 1 Saint Vincent and No. 2 Grove City automatically advanced to the championship tournament's semifinal round. 

Grove City (24-2) led by as many as 29 in the second half of its 70-58 win over No. 3 Westminster College (20-7) in Friday's opener, while No. 4 W&J (18-9) rolled in its 74-53 victory over defending PAC champion Saint Vincent (19-7) in the nightcap.

Saturday's title game is slated to get underway at 5 p.m. It will be the league's first championship tournament title game played on a neutral floor. The PAC went to its championship tournament format in 1999-00.  

Saturday will be the fifth meeting between Grove City and W&J in the PAC Championship Tournament and the second in the league's title game. No. 1 W&J claimed its fourth PAC title with a 72-63 win over No. 2 Grove City on March 1, 2003 in Washington.    

The winner of the PAC’s Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. Forty-three conferences have been granted automatic qualification to this year's 64-team championship. The selected Division III Championship teams as well as the first and second round site selections will be announced Monday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on ncaa.com. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 6-7.

2019-20 PAC Championship Tournament highlights
Friday, February 28 :: Latrobe, Pa.
Semifinal
No. 4 W&J 74, No. 1 Saint Vincent 53  Box Score
Junior forward Alie Seto (Allison, Pa. | Brownsville) paced W&J with a career-high 34 points to go along with 13 rebounds in Friday's semifinal win ... It was her 10th double-double of the year ... Saturday will be W&J's third-straight appearance in the title game and sixth since 2013 ... W&J owns five PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2006 ... W&J jumped out to an early 8-0 first quarter lead before carrying a three-point advantage (17-14) into the second quarter ... The Presidents outscored the Bearcats 17-6 in the second and went into the half with a 34-20 lead ... W&J held a 20-13 first half edge on the glass ... Junior forward Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Plum) converted a pair of free throws with 38 seconds remaining in the third to push W&J's lead to 20 (54-34) ... A jumper from Saint Vincent senior Madison Kollar (Latrobe, Pa. | Greater Latrobe) cut the W&J lead to 14 (59-45) with 6:51 remaining in regulation, but the Presidents outscored the Bearcats 13-4 over the ensuing 5:28 to stretch their lead to 23 (72-49) with 1:23 to play ... Junior guard Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa. | Central) capped the run with a three-pointer ... Johnston finished with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting ... Freshman forward Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa. | Forest Hills) finished with 11 points and four rebounds ... She was 4-of-5 from the field ... W&J finished with a 37-22 rebounding advantage while their defensive effort limited Saint Vincent to just 1-of-12 from three-point range ... Kollar led Saint Vincent with 18 points ... Junior guard Jenna Lafko (Gibsonia, Pa. | Hampton) added 15 points and five rebounds ... Saint Vincent swept the regular season series with W&J, winning 84-47 in Latrobe on Dec. 4 and 75-60 in Washington on Jan. 25. 
 
Friday, February 28 :: Latrobe, Pa.
Semifinal
No. 2 Grove City 70, No. 3 Westminster 58 Box Score
With Friday's win, Grove City advances to the title game for the first time since earning back-to-back trips in 2001-02 and 2002-03 ... The Wolverines won their only PAC title in 1986-87 under the direction of head coach Susan Roberts ... Junior Jess Bowen (Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Hills) finished with 16 points and four rebounds to lead five Grove City players in double figures ... Junior Jessica Kimbrell (Centerville, Ohio | Centerville) added 11 points and four rebounds ... Senior forward Kate Balcom (Londonderry, N.H. | Londonderry), sophomore forward Allison Podkul (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield) and freshman guard Emma Vezzosi (St. Mary's County, Md. | Leonardtown) each had 10 ... Leading by 10 (23-13) going into the second quarter, Grove City's lead swelled to 24 (45-21) heading into halftime ... Vezzosi drained a pair of free throws with 4:55 left in the third to push the Wolverines' lead to 29 (56-27) ... Fromknecht connected on a jumper with 1:31 left in regulation to cut the lead to 13 (70-57) before first-year guard Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) hit the second of two free throws to trim Grove City's lead to a dozen (70-58) ... Fromknecht finished with 16 points and nine rebounds ... Senior forward Kayla Bennett (Kent, Ohio |  Theodore Roosevelt) added 16 points and seven boards. 
 
Wednesday, February 26 :: New Wilmington, Pa.
Quarterfinal
No. 3 Westminster 76, No. 6 Waynesburg 60  Box Score
Wednesday's 16-point win earned Westminster a spot in the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2009-10 ... The win was the Titans' 20th of the season, marking the program's first 20-win season since 2006-07 and just the third in program history ... Sophomore guard Magen Polczynski (Irwin, Pa. | Norwin) tied her career high with 20 points ... She went 7-of-14 from the floor and added five rebounds ... First-year guard Camden Hergenrother (Salem, Ohio | Cardinal Mooney) posted a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with seven boards ... Senior forward Emily Fromknecht (Erie, Pa. | McDowell) added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds ... Westminster put together a 13-3 run over the final 6:14 of the second quarter to take a 19-point lead (39-20) into the half ... Waynesburg, sparked by a 24-4 run over the first 5:39 of the third quarter, pulled to within four (48-44) ... Senior guard Allie DeLaney (Belmont, Ohio | Union Local) had 11 points during the run ... Up just six (52-46) going into the fourth, Westminster used an 11-4 spurt to grab a 13-point lead (63-50) with 6:05 to play ... Junior guard Andrea Orlosky (Shelocta, Pa. | West Shamokin) finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Waynesburg ... DeLaney added 15 points while sophomore center Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. | Shaler) chipped in with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.   
 
Wednesday, February 26 :: Washington, Pa.
Quarterfinal
No. 4 W&J 65, No. 5 Chatham 55  Box Score
W&J secured a spot in the semifinal round for the eighth-straight year after Wednesday's 10-point win ... Junior forward Allie Seto (Allison, Pa. | Brownsville) logged her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and 17 rebounds ... She also added four steals and four assists ... Junior guard Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa. | Central) scored all 16 of her points in the second half while sophomore guard Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va. | Morgantown) totaled 11 points ... Chatham, trailing by four (15-11) after the opening quarter, took an 18-17 lead with 6:10 remaining in the half on a jumper by graduate guard Emily Ondo (Pittsburgh, Shaler) ... W&J outscored Chatham 14-6 over the final 5:09 to lead by eight (32-24) at the half ... The Cougars scored seven quick points in the third to pull to within one (32-31) ... Sophomore guard Kaitlyn Fertig (Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park) drained a pair of jumpers while first-year guard Riley D'Angelo (Bellwood, Pa. | Bellwood-Antis) buried a three-pointer during the stretch ... Johnston scored 11 of her 16 in the fourth quarter ... Fertig paced Chatham with 24 points and five rebounds ... Ondo finished with a 15-points, 13-rebound double-double, her league-leading 16th of the year.
 
Monday, February 24 :: Pittsburgh, Pa.
First Round
No. 5 Chatham 69, No. 8 Geneva 63  Box Score
Graduate guard Emily Ondo (Pittsburgh, Pa. Shaler) paced No. 5 Chatham in Monday's win, finishing with a 21-point, 20-rebound double-double ... It was her league-leading 15th of the season ... Sophomore guard Kaitlyn Fertig (Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park chipped in with 20 points, nine rebounds and six steals while first-year guard Riley D'Angelo (Bellwood, Pa. | Bellwood-Antis) added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists ... Chatham made 14 three-pointers in the win, incuding 10 in the first half ... Freshman guard Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa. | Ellwood City) buried a three-pointer late in the first quarter to give No. 8 Geneva a 22-19 lead going into the second ... Junior guard Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio | Poland) hit a three-pointer with 7:13 remaining in the second to push Geneva's lead to seven, 31-24 ... Chatham ended the quarter on an 18-3 run to carry a 42-34 lead into the half ... Junior forward Brittani Smith (Severna Park, Md. | Seton Keough) connected on a pair of free throws with 4:40 to play in the third to extend Chatham's lead to 11, 51-40 ... A D'Angelo three-pointer with 7:39 left in regulation gave Chatham a 65-51 lead, but Geneva used an 11-0 run over the next 4:51 to cut the lead to three, 65-62 ... Geneva junior forward Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian) posted a 23-point, 17-rebound double-double, her 14th of the year ... Melnek added 22 points and seven boards. 
 
Monday, February 24 :: Waynesburg, Pa.
First Round
No. 6 Waynesburg 79, No. 7 Bethany 65 Box Score
Sophomore forward Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) led No. 6 Waynesburg Monday with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double ... It was her 10th of the year ... She finished 8-of-12 from the field ... Senior guard Alli DeLaney (Belmont, Ohio | Union Local) chipped in with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists while senior guard Erin Joyce (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin) and junior guard Elena McDermott (Slippery Rock, Pa. | Slippery Rock) each finished with 11 ...  Waynesburg led by as many as 11 (20-9) in the first quarter before a 10-0 run by No. 7 Bethany pulled the visitors back to within one, 20-19 ... Junior guards Allison Kuhn (Lewisville, Ohio | Monroe Central) and Haylie Glass (Mercer, Pa. | Mercer) hit three-pointers for the Bison during the run ... Down two, 36-34, with 1:43 left in the second quarter, freshman forward Leighton Croft (Morgantown, W.Va. | Trinity Christian) and sophomore guard Kacey Kastroll (South Park, Pa. | South Park) drained three-pointers to give Waynesburg a 40-36 lead going into the half ... Waynesburg outscored Bethany 22-9 over the first 7:12 of the third and led 66-49 going into the fourth ... A 10-1 Bethany run to start the fourth trimmed Waynesburg's lead to eight, 67-59, but the Jackets stretched their lead back to as many as 16 (79-63) before claiming the 14-point victory ... Sophomore guard Courtney Walker (Moundville, W.Va. | Cameron) led the Bison with 22 points and four rebounds ... Glass added 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.