Penn College vs. PSU-Hazleton
BOX SCORE
Marywood vs. Baptist Bible BOX SCORE
Scranton, PA – Marywood University withstood an early second half rally from Baptist Bible and stretched their lead over the final five minutes with intense pressure on the defensive end as the host Pacers claimed the 2007 Coca Cola Tip-Off Tournament Championship with a 63-46 win over Baptist Bible College Saturday afternoon at Marywood's Insalaco Arena. Penn College of Technology used a 54-48 win over PSU-Hazleton in the consolation game to take third place.
In the championship, Marywood (2-0) took a 31-28 lead into the break largely due to their defensive efforts in the first half. Marywood forced 23 first half Baptist Bible turnovers and collected 13 steals, but committed 16 of their own turnovers to keep the Defenders in the game. Most of Baptist Bible offense in the first half came from the bench, as the Defender bench poured in 18 points in the first stanza.
Marywood finished the game with 22 steals and forced a total of 34 turnovers with their defensive pressure, as Stephanie Fusaro (Bala Cynwyd, PA) collected seven steals of her own for the Pacers. Baptist Bible got to within three in the second half on several occasions but after each rally were met with more pressure from the Pacers' defense. Marlie Kneifel's (Kouts, IN) team-high 18-point effort was not enough as the Defenders fell to 1-1 on the year.
Bryanne Unger (Tower City, PA) led all scorers with a 19-point effort for Marywood, while Caitlin Hadzimichalis (Harmony, NJ) added 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor. Fusaro also hit double-digits with a 12-point effort of her own.
In the consolation game, Penn College of Technology improved to 1-1 on the year with a 54-48 win over PSU-Hazleton (0-2). Erica Logan (Montoursville, PA) led the Wildcats with 14 points while three of her teammates reached double digits in the rebound column, including Jessica Strasser's 16 rebounds. Strasser (Hawley, PA) added nine points on the day, while Danielle Trout (Linglestown, PA) had 11 points. Meagan Morris (Herndon, VA) had eight points and 13 boards for Penn College while teammate Amanda Ault (Milan, PA) had nine points and 10 rebounds.
For the Lions, Steph Halliday (Delaware Valley) had the lone double-double of the day with 11 points and 16 rebounds, while Amanda Pursell (Central Columbia) and Christine Schultz (Upper Dauphin) each added 10 points. The Lions bench outscored their opponents 19-3 and as a team PSU-Hazleton forced 21 turnovers to only 15 of their own but were limited to 26.3% shooting from the floor.
Marywood returns to action Tuesday night when they play host to Wilkes University at 6:00 pm.
