BOX SCORE
Reading, PA - Kelli McIntyre scored a game-high 23 points to lead Alvernia College to a 67-54 win over Marywood University Monday evening in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women's basketball action at Alvernia's Physical Education Center in Reading.
Alvernia (13-12, 12-4 PAC) sews up the fourth seed in the upcoming PAC Championships with its eighth straight victory. The Crusaders went 5-12 in the first 17 games of the season and needed this late charge to earn a home game in the conference tournament. Alvernia will host a quarterfinal game Monday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
Alvernia struggled with some lingering effects of the pregame ceremony that celebrated the careers of seniors Ashley Blevins and Jill Rosolie. The guest Pacers (12-12, 5-11 PAC) scored the first six points of the game with the Crusaders turning the ball over twice in the opening four minutes.
McIntyre finally got the Crusaders on the board at the 15:54 mark, and just three minutes later Rosolie hit a jumper to give Alvernia its first lead of the night, 10-8.
Marywood regained the lead and twice earned a three-point advantage before the Crusaders rattled off an 8-0 run capped by a McIntyre 3 for a five-point lead, 22-17 with 6:35 left in the first. Marywood erased that with a 6-0 spurt that ended with a pair of Lizzy Green (Shenandoah, PA) buckets.
Alvernia junior Michelle Lutzkanin stopped the run with her only 3 of the half, and McIntyre followed with five straight before Alex Velazquez scored to push the Crusaders lead to nine points, 32-23 with eight seconds left in the half. Marywood pushed the ball up court and Erin Furlong (Albany, NY) scored as the horn sounded to send the teams to the break with Alvernia holding a 32-25 lead.
The second half started much the same as the first for the hosts with turnovers on each of the first two possessions, although this time the Pacers gave the ball right back both times and McIntyre opened the
scoring with a pair of free throws.
Alvernia scored 10 of the first 14 points of the second half to build a comfortable 13-point lead, 42-29 with 14:10 left to play. Marywood scored four straight and cut the gap to nine points twice, but just as
quickly the Crusaders pushed it back to 13 on a pair of McIntyre jumpers.
The lead grew to 14 points on a Joanna Graber 3 and its largest of the night when Rosolie hit a 3 with 3:14 to play for a 65-50 lead. The teams traded buckets before Green's two free throws with better than two minutes to play closed the scoring.
Rosolie finished with a solid stat line of 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Marywood got a team-best 15 points from Green, 12 points and nine rebounds from Amanda Lass (Brackney,
PA), and 10 from Caitlin Ely (Montrose, PA).
The Pacers will close out their 2007-2008 campaign Thursday when the face Philadelphia Biblical University at the Insalaco Arena at 6:00 pm. The Crimson Eagles will be joining the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference next year.
