(box score)

Sophomore Casey Pritz (Abington, PA) simply could not be stopped, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds in Widener's 85-76 Commonwealth Conference victory at Alvernia in Reading, PA.

Widener finally took control with a 7-0 run spanning just over a minute for an 82-70 lead with 3:12 remaining.  Senior Becky Tyler (Wynnewood, PA) netted four points in the spurt and freshman Lil Carney (Narbeth, PA) ended it on a 3-pointer.

Pritz, the reigning conference Player of the Week, shot 7-of-8 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line in 27 minutes.  She is averaging 12.9 points over her last seven games.

Carney scored 18 points with three 3-pointers, freshman Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Tyler poured in 12 points.  This helped Widener shoot a stellar 50 percent (31-of-62) from the floor and post a 45-37 rebounding edge.

Kelli McIntyre scored 21 points, Alex Velazquez netted 20 and Alli Toczylowski closed with 11 and nine rebounds for the Crusaders, who struggled to shoot just 35 percent (25-of-71) from the field.

Widener (12-10, 8-3 CC) moves to a 1 1/2 game lead over Alvernia (12-8, 6-4) for third place in the league and owns the tiebreaker by sweeping the season series.

The visitors' third straight victory and fourth in five games also ended the home team's four-game winning streak.

The Pride shot 52 percent (17-of-33) from the field in the opening half to grab a 42-36 cushion.  The Crusaders hit only 33 percent (13-of-39) from the floor in that time.

Widener on Saturday hosts Elizabethtown on Senior Day at 1:00 pm.  The Pride can clinch a berth in the conference tournament with a victory.