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Women's Basketball

Four Widener Teams to Compete For Conference Titles This Week

Widener's basketball teams on Wednesday will compete in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals and its track & field squads on Saturday will take part in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships.
 
The men's basketball team (18-7, 9-5 CC) is the second seed and will host third-seeded Lycoming, starting at 7:00 pm at Schwartz Center.  The women's squad (17-8, 10-4) is the No. 3 seed and will visit second-seeded Messiah at 6:00 pm in Grantham, PA.
 
Tickets for each game are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and free for those under age six.  Widener students at the men's game are admitted free with a valid ID.
 
The track and field teams will compete on the campus of Lehigh University at Rauch Fieldhouse, beginning at 9:30 am.  Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for those under age six.
 
The men's basketball team has recorded another strong season, posting different winning streaks of seven and six contests as well as reaching as high as eighth in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings.
 
Senior forward Perry Wright (Severn, MD) once again has played solidly with his great inside presence.  He is fourth in the league with 15.9 points per game, eighth with 6.6 rebounds per contest, 14th with 2.2 assists per game, seventh with a .737 free throw percentage, third with 2.4 steals per contest and ninth with a .367 three-point percentage.
 
Junior guard Lamar Jackson (Philadelphia, PA) has been a great add for the squad at point guard and also possesses a deft shooting touch.  He is eighth in the conference with 13.4 points per game, fifth with 3.2 assists per contest, 12th with a .695 free throw percentage, ninth with 1.6 steals per game and fifth with a 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Senior center Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) has been a force in the paint of late, averaging 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds over his last seven games with double-doubles in two of his last three contests.  Picked second team all-league a season ago, he is first in the conference this season and 24th in the country with a .601 shooting percentage, ninth with 13.4 points per game, fourth with 7.8 rebounds per contest, 10th with a .714 free throw percentage and 10th with 0.8 blocks per game.
 
These schools split two meetings this season with the road team winning both.  Widener on February 18 came back from 14 points down to win, 70-69, in Williamsport on Jackson's offensive rebound and layup with one second left.  Lycoming posted a 66-62 victory in Chester on January 21 despite Jackson's 16 points.
 
This will be the teams first meeting in the conference tournament since Widener posted a 75-61 victory in Williamsport in the 2008 final.
 
The other semifinal pits top-seeded Messiah hosting No. 4 seed Albright in Grantham, PA.  The winners play Saturday for the conference title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The women are in the conference tournament a fifth straight season in a campaign in which it posted two five-game winning streaks, the latter topped February 14 with a 65-54 upset of No. 15 Lebanon Valley.
 
Junior guard Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) is having another strong season, one year after being tabbed first team all-league, second team All-ECAC South Region and second team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District.  The first team Academic All-District pick this season is third in the league with 14.4 points per game, first with 3.0 steals per contest, sixth with 7.5 rebounds per game, 15th with 2.2 assists per contest, 12th with a .727 free throw percentage and 10th with a .301 three-point percentage.
 
Junior center Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) also has played solidly and has been a valuable player for the squad in the post.  She is 10th in the conference with 10.4 points per game, ninth with 6.4 rebounds per contest, third with a .534 shooting percentage and tied for eighth with 15 blocked shots.
 
Junior guard Lil Carney (Narberth, PA), a first team all-league pick the last two years and the 2010 conference Rookie of the Year also has been a go-to player for the Pride.  She is tied for first in the league with 4.1 assists per game, first with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, 20th with 9.1 points per contest, tied for ninth with a .750 free throw percentage and tied for fifth with 2.3 steals per game.
 
This marks the fifth straight year these schools will battle in the conference semifinals.  Messiah won both meetings this season, 58-48 on January 14 in Grantham despite 15 points from senior Lindsay Pepino (Oceanside, NY) and 56-49 on February 16 in Chester with Dellinger getting 11 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The second semifinal is between No. 16 Lebanon Valley and fourth-seeded Elizabethtown.  The winners play Saturday for the conference title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The men's track and field team is the two-time defending MAC indoor champions and the women look to continue moving up the conference standings.
 
Sophomore Tyler Schmalhofer (Elizabethtown, PA) was picked last year's Rookie of the Meet after winning the 400-meter dash and closing second in the 200-meter dash.  He also was part of the third-place 4x400-meter relay squad which returns senior Sean McCarthy (Ellicott City, MD) and sophomore Will Betts (Wayne, PA).
 
The 4x200-meter relay team seeks to three-peat as league champions.  This year's team returns McCarthy and senior Emmanuel Rupert (Baltimore, MD).
 
The women have many options to look to for points.  Freshman Brittany Diehl (Havertown, PA) has had a solid year in the 400-meter dash with junior Darcela Llanos (Abington, PA) and senior Emilie Keane (Haddonfield, NJ) also looking to excel in the dashes.
 
Freshman Kayla Thomas (Morton, PA), Erica Szpynda (Berwick, PA) and fellow sophomore Colleen Spiller (Flemington, NJ) give Widener plenty of optimism in the field events.
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