GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Widener women's basketball team fought hard in its MAC Commonwealth Championship game against Messiah, but the top-seeded Falcons built an early first-half lead and rode it to a 69-55 victory in the finals rematch on Sunday afternoon on Jordan Court at Hitchcock Arena.
The second-seeded Pride, who beat the Falcons, 72-66, just eight days prior to Sunday's contest, dropped to 19-7 on the season. The Blue and Gold also had their 11-game winning streak snapped with the defeat.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Jordan D'Ambrosio led the Pride with 15 points. The junior guard also led the team at the free throw line, going 6-for-7.
- Along with D'Ambrosio, Charlotte Stern was the only other Widener player in double figures, scoring 11 points. The senior forward paced the Pride in three-pointers, going 2-for-3 from long distance.
- Brooke Bachtle, a senior guard who was Widener's hero in its 59-57 victory over York in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals, led the team with seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST MESSIAH
- After a thrilling conference semifinal win over York, the Pride had their sights set on winning their fifth MAC championship against the Falcons, who they lost a 60-45 game against them in last year's final. They came into game with confidence after beating Messiah on Feb. 19 at Widener. In that game, the Pride rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half to earn the victory.
- On Sunday, the Pride only managed to hold a lead for 55 seconds, as they took a 3-2 lead with 9:32 remaining in the first quarter after Nicole Barnes hit a three-pointer.
- After the Falcons went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-3 lead, the Pride spent the rest of the game trying to catch up to them. The Blue and Gold got the Messiah lead down to 12-9 with 3:52 left following a Jasmine Franklin layup, but the Falcons went on a 7-2 run to close the period with a 19-11 lead.
- In the second quarter, the Pride trimmed the Falcons' advantage to 32-27 with 1:26 left after out scoring them, 16-13, up to that point. Erin Phelan led the Pride during that time frame, scoring six points.
- Unfortunately, the Falcons tacked on four more points to take a 36-27 lead at halftime.
- In the second half, the Falcons increased their advantage to 20 by going on a 13-2 run to begin the half. From there, the Pride only got the deficit down to 13 before the Falcons went on to win by their 14-point margin.
PERSPECTIVE
- The Pride's senior class —Bachtle, Barnes, Franklin, Phelan, Stern, Mikayla Nicolini, Olivia Pennypacker, and Helena Salmon — has left an incredible mark on the women's basketball program. These eight student-athletes have been a part of 67 wins, made the conference tournament four times, including this season, reached the MAC Commonwealth Championship game twice, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament once.
- Phelan, who had eight points, finished 13th on Widener's all-time scoring list with 1,091 career points.
UP NEXT
The Pride will await news of a possible at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament selection show is set for Monday at 2:30 p.m.
