Top-Seeded Pacers Host Neumann in CSAC Semifinal
Senior Courtney Murray leads the Pacers in blocks this season

Top-Seeded Pacers Host Neumann in CSAC Semifinal

Women's Basketball - 2/23/2016 6:23:00 PM

Scranton, PA - A historic season takes on a new juncture for the top-seeded Marywood University women's basketball team.

The Pacers enter the Colonial States Athletics Conference playoffs Wednesday with home court advantage for the first time in the 24-year history of the league. Marywood hosts No. 4 Neumann Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in the Insalaco Arena.

TICKET INFORMATION: Marywood students enter free with a valid student identification card. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, and $1 for seniors. Children aged 16 and under are admitted free of charge.

GREEN OUT: Any fan wearing green receives a free bag of chips. Any fan that retweets @MU_PacerPack earns a free hot dog at the concession stand.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: With home court advantage, a win keeps the CSAC championship at the Insalaco Arena Saturday at 2:00 pm. If victorious, the Pacers will face the winner of Wednesday evening's semifinal between No. 3 Cabrini College and No. 2 Gwynedd Mercy University.

A LOOK AT THE PACERS: Marywood (18-7, 15-1 CSAC) earned the top seed in the CSAC tournament for the first time in program history with Saturday's 51-45 victory over regionally ranked (#6) Gwynedd Mercy. The Pacers' rise to the top of the standings has come without leading the conference in any offensive or defensive category in overall stats. Marywood ranked sixth in scoring offense with 57 points per game and third in scoring defense with 55.3 points allowed per game. During conference play, the Pacers are on top the conference in free throw percentage with a .695 clip from the charity stripe. Marywood is guided by Gabrielle Giordano offensively with 12.5 points per game - the lone player in double figures. Alexa Gerchman leads the team in several categories including rebounds (143), rebounds per game (5.7), assists (74), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57) and steals (45).

PACER PACK THE HOUSE: The Insalaco Arena hosts the highest attendance figure in the conference this year. The Pacers average 471 people in its eight home contests and 404 attendanees throughout the year. The next-highest attendance was Immaculata with 303 and 308, respectively.

REAPING REWARDS: After cashing in home court advantage, Marywood took two of the major end-of-season conference awards. In her 12th season, Tara Macciocco earned CSAC Coach of the Year awards after leading the team to a 15-1 conference record. Gabrielle Giordano was named the league's Rookie of the Year. This is the first time in its first 24 years in the CSAC (previously the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference) that Marywood garnered any of the league's top three awards. Giordano and senior Alexa Gerchman were selected Second Team All-CSAC. Catie Nealon received recognition on this year's CSAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES: Gabrielle Giordano was named the CSAC Player of the Week three times throughout the season for the weeks ending Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 21. On those same weeks, the Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference (ECAC) dubbed her its Division III South Region Rookie of the Week.

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Neumann (16-10, 13-3 CSAC) leads the conference in scoring offense with 70.5 points per game. The Knights are fifth in scoring defense with 59.7 points allowed per game. During CSAC games, they average 76.6 points per game and limit teams to 54.3 per game. They top the conference in field-goal percentage (.407). JoHanna Metzger was the conference's Player of the Year after leading the league with 12.7 rebounds per game and finishing second in the CSAC with 17 points per game. Lauren Legler (11.1 ppg) and Nafisa Saunders (10.8 ppg) average in double figures.

LAST MEETING: On the road, Marywood defeated Neumann 63-60 on Feb. 1 in the teams' only meeting of the season. Alexa Gerchman posted 14 points and eight rebounds. Tara Steakin finished with 11 points. Marywood went 14-for-15 (93.3 percent) from the line and shot 42.6 percent from the field. AAliya Hayes totaled 12 points and eight rebounds for the Knights, and JoHanna Metzger was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Marywood led early before a 16-point run by the Knights left the Pacers trailing by as much as seven points. Catie Nealon hit Alexa Gerchman with a bounce pass for the go-ahead layup with three minutes left.

WINNING RECORDS: Marywood established a new program-high 15 conference wins in 2015-16, breaking the previous mark of 13 set by the 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams. The Pacers' win over Neumann tied the 2010-11 team's record with nine consecutive victories spanning from Jan. 5-Feb.1.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Marywood is on an eight-game winning streak at the Insalaco Arena, dating back to a Jan. 9 victory over Notre Dame (Md.). The Pacers are 9-2 this year on their home court.

NEW YEAR: Marywood shares a 14-1 record in 2016. During the 2015 portion of the season, Marywood owned a 2-4 overall record. During that time, Marywood is shooting .61 percent better from the field, .48 better from behind the arc, scoring 9.3 more points per game, and allowing 13 fewer points per game. The difference in rebound differential is 10.5 per game. Marywood was outscored minus-5.2 points per game in 2015, compared to a 17.1 point differential this calendar year.

BENCH DEPTH: Since the Nov. 21 tossup at Salisbury, Marywood's bench outscored its opponents' reserves in 22 of 23 games. The lone exception was the Pacers' most recent loss to Cabrini on Feb. 10. In that time frame, Marywood's reserves dominated their counterparts by 28.1 points per game to 10.

IN THE PLAYOFFS: Marywood has never advanced to the CSAC/PAC championship. The Pacers have an overall 4-15 record in the conference playoffs. They are winless in six appearances in the semifinals (2012-13, 2011-12, 2010-11, 1999-2000, 1998-99, and 1992-93). Marywood and Neumann have split both of its CSAC meetings: the Pacers had the upper hand in the 2012-13 first round game by a 74-64 score, while the Knights won the 1998-99 first round game by a 63-56 score.
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