CHESTER, Pa. – By defeating York 76-67 on Saturday, the Pride have made the playoffs as the fifth seed in the MAC.

The Pride end the regular season at 10-15 (7-9 in MAC Commonwealth games).

BY THE NUMBERS

• Mary McFillin was the top scorer for either side, recording 26 points. She also hit five triples.
• Widener dominated on the offensive glass, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds to just one from York.
• The Pride collected four blocks and six steals on defense.

HOW IT HAPPENED AT SCHWARTZ ATHLETIC CENTER
Although the Spartans had an early 4-0 advantage, a McFillin three got the Pride on the board. This would be the first of three triples in a row for McFillin, as she scored Widener's first nine points. Lindsay Kutz added two free throws to go up 11-4. York was trying to recover from the Pride's 11-0 run, but a Kutz three stopped the visitors' progress. The score was 16-12 Widener with 3:46 left in the first quarter. Both teams would be held scoreless for almost two minutes before McFillin scored six straight points on a three-pointer and a successful and-one opportunity. The Pride were now up by double digits. A Gianna Samuels layup was the final Widener bucket of the quarter. The score was 24-13 Widener. The Pride converted 7-15 (46.7%) of their shots and hit all five free-throw attempts.

Mia Robbins hit the first Widener shot of the second quarter on a layup. York proceeded to counter with one of their own. With nine minutes to go in the half, Lia Samuels hit a three off a Jordan D'Ambrosio assist. Widener was up 14 points. The Spartans would go on to score seven consecutive points to cut into the deficit, but D'Ambrosio went 1-2 at the foul line to keep the score at 32-22. After a missed opportunity by York, Robbins hit a layup to make the score 35-25 Widener. To end the half, D'Ambrosio converted a driving layup with three seconds to spare. The two sides went into halftime with the score at 39-30 Widener. The Pride grabbed 10 rebounds in the quarter and dished out four assists.

To begin the third quarter, Robbins' layup attempt was good with 8:22 on the clock. However, a foul by her sent York to the free-throw line, which got the visitors' deficit to within single digits. McFillin answered with a floating jumper to make the score 43-32 Widener. A 7-0 Spartans' run would be interrupted by a D'Ambrosio layup to push the Pride's lead to six. Nearing the three-minute mark, McFillin found a rhythm once again, scoring five points in a row. The Pride held a 55-45 lead. York scored five of their own to end the quarter. Widener led after three quarters 55-50. Widener cashed in on 16 points for the third quarter, and they collected three offensive rebounds to York's zero.

Two free throws from Robbins got the Pride on the board to start the final quarter. A steal from McFillin led to quick offense, as she cashed in for two points. With about five minutes to go, D'Ambrosio hit another layup to keep the score at 65-56. York's efforts to get back in the game were being met with matching buckets from the Pride. Soon after, Widener made a 4-0 push courtesy of Robbins and D'Ambrosio. Two free throws from McFillin were the daggers in the waning seconds. The Pride took the victory 76-67. For the game, the Pride won the points-off turnovers battle 16-5. Widener also got 34 points in the paint.

UP NEXT
After clinching the final seed in the conference, the Pride will go on the road to face the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen in the quarterfinals. That game be on Monday, Feb. 20. The time is to be determined.