CHESTER, Pa. – Despite trailing at the half, Widener women's basketball defeated the York College Spartans 69-59 in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals.

The Pride are 22-4 on the season. They were 11-3 in MAC play.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Jordan D'Ambrosio led the team with 16 points. She nearly had a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and eight assists.
• Lia Samuels chipped in 12 points on a team-high four triples.
• Lindsay Kutz had three of Widener's seven steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST YORK

• Almost immediately, the Spartans opened with a triple. After both teams committed a turnover, the Spartans would go up 5-0. Mia Robbins would score Widener's first two points on foul shots. The Pride tried cutting into the deficit with two-pointers until Mary McFillin's triple got the deficit to two. The visitors ended the quarter on a 9-2 push, and the score was 18-9 York.
• A York triple was countered with an Avalynn Baer layup to begin the second quarter. Both sides saw buckets in rapid succession, as the score was 25-16 midway through the quarter. Widener got a few trips to the free-throw line and had some easy points in the paint. Robbins scored the final Pride points of the half, but York went into the locker room with a 33-27 advantage.
• Back-and-forth triples by both sides were the first points of the third quarter. McFillin and Gianna Samuels hit those shots. A 9-2 run put the Pride up by one point with 6:07 left. The three-pointers were flying over the course of the third, as Widener hit four straight triples. D'Ambrosio hit two of the four shots. The Pride's defense would not allow York to get up successful shots, let alone shots at all. Widener had a 53-44 lead through three.
• A Lia Samuels' triple was the initial bucket of the fourth. Another 9-2 run gave the Pride a strong double-digit lead. Kimberly Casiello joined in on the three-point aerial attack with two triples in 34 seconds. Despite two Spartans' free throws with 17 seconds left, it was not enough to overcome the Pride. Widener won 69-59.

UP NEXT
The Pride will head to Mechanicsburg, Pa. to take on the Messiah University Falcons for the conference title. The game is on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.