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Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball Rolls On With 67-52 Triumph over Messiah in the “Sweet 16”

(box score)

Widener's four seniors all stepped up in a big way and left little doubt in the outcome, cruising to a 67-52 victory over 16th-ranked and Commonwealth Conference-foe Messiah in the sectional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Amherst, MA.
 
Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) was too much in the paint with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) had 13 and 12 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, Lil Carney (Narberth, PA) turned the game into a personal showcase with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Francesca Lee (Hainesport, NJ) had nine points and six rebounds to go with smothering defense.
 
Widener (24-5) is off to the sectional final and will face No. 4 Amherst in the “Elite Eight” on Saturday at 7:30 pm with the winner heading to the “Final Four” in Holland, MI.
 
Even with the Falcons hanging around early in the second half, this game was owned by the Pride.  Widener exploded on a 12-5 run that opened a 44-35 lead with 12:24 left.  Hejnas scored seven points in that span and ended things via two free throws.
 
Messiah (25-5) tried to remain in the contest, getting four straight points that included two free throws from Chelsea Danel to close to 44-39 with 11:27 left.
 
But in the rubber match between the co-conference regular-season champions, this clearly was Widener's night and it was further emphasized by a 10-0 spurt that gave it a 54-39 lead with 8:54 remaining.  Dellinger and sophomore Kristina Reiter (Sewell, NJ) hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Carney drilled two free throws and junior Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA) had a huge fast-break layup.
 
Widener's play in the second half was indicative of the entire contest.  The Pride outscored the Falcons 35-24 in that stanza by allowing their counterparts to shoot only 31 percent (9-of-29) from the floor.  Hejnas scored 11 points in the half, Carney had six and five rebounds and Dellinger simply was all over the place with five points and eight rebounds.
 
The Pride, who in this tournament own the only three NCAA Tournament victories by a women's team in school history, ended the game allowing just 30 percent shooting (16-of-53) and owned a 47-36 rebounding edge that seemed greater than that.
 
Messiah's Dori Gyori had the quietest 11 points and 12 rebounds you will see in a basketball game.  Bottled up all night by Widener's post players, she was just 1-of-10 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the line with no free throw attempts in the second half.
 
Kira Maier scored 12 points and Taylor Miller added nine from the first half for Messiah, which only had six different players score in the second half.
 
Widener extended its own school record for most victories in a season after it already established the mark for most league wins.  The team is making its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and sixth appearance in postseason.
 
With football advancing to the “Elite Eight,” this marks the first time in 35 years Widener will have two teams compete in the national quarterfinals in the same academic calendar.  The football squad in 1977 won the national championship and the men's basketball team in 1978 played for the NCAA title.
 
The first half was much like the entire contest as it was dominated in almost every facet by Widener, but it could only muster a 32-28 halftime cushion after leading by as many as 12.  Dellinger scored eight points and Carney added six for the Pride, who limited the Falcons to a mere 29 percent shooting (7-of-24) from the floor.
 
Widener went on an 11-4 run to open a 30-19 lead with 3:21 left in the half thanks to four points from Dellinger, who ended it on a steal and layup.  Messiah would not go away, pouring in the next eight points to move to 30-28 with 1:36 remaining as Gyori hit four free throws.
 
Gyori scored nine points in the half, all from the charity stripe.
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