Women’s Basketball Wins 61-58 In Back And Forth Conference Battle Against Alvernia

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The game turned out to be a close one, but Widener pulled through and took its first Commonwealth Conference victory with a 61-58 win over Alvernia at Schwartz Center.

Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) started off the scoring in the first half after she received a pass off of a steal from Lil Carney (Narberth, PA). Hejnas ended the first half with 15 total points, four steals, seven rebounds and was 7-for-7 at the line. The first half ended 30-22 in favor of the Pride (3-3, 1-0 CC) after freshman Ally Ferrucci (Vineland, NJ) sank one free throw after the buzzer.

Widener held the lead up until seven minutes left in the game, when Alvernia took a one point lead to make the score 49-48. The game went back and forth for the last five minutes of the game and wound up being tied, 53-53, with just two minutes remaining, when Widener pulled away with a two point field goal and then a lay-up almost immediately after from Carney. The Pride held a 59-58 edge with just 30 seconds remaining when Carney sank two free throws for a three-point edge.

Alvernia had one last chance, but Angela Altemose missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the waning seconds.

Hejnas scored 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was 7-for-7 from the line. Carney totaled 18 points, four steals, four assists and ended 11-for-13 from the foul line. Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) caused six turnovers and gathered four rebounds, all of which were on defense. As a team, Widener shot 21-for-26 from the line

For Alvernia (3-2, 0-1), Altemose had 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Chelsea Gieringer was the next highest rebounder with nine, eight of which were defensive. She also scored 11 points.

The win enabled Alisa Kitner to become Widener's winningest coach, moving her mark to 124-96. She surpassed Maureen Susko, who went 123-231 from 1985-2000.

Widener next hosts Albright in another Commonwealth Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The women play at 1:00 pm, with the men playing at approximately 3:00 pm.

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