LEWISTON, Maine – Even with a nine-point deficit at the half, and down by as much as 14 at one point, Widener women's basketball stormed back in the second half to defeat the Springfield College Pride 57-50 in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

The Pride are 24-4 on the season. They were 11-3 in MAC play.

OF NOTE
Widener head coach Alisa Kintner noted a key factor to this game: tempo.

"I wanted to push the tempo," Kintner said. "I think we did that in the second half a little bit better than the first half...[Springfield] started missing some shots [like] easy layups...so, we kind of knew they were getting a little tired, and we tried to push the tempo a little bit more."

Jordan D'Ambrosio said coming back from their halftime deficit involved staying positive and understanding that the team will not always have the lead.

"We kind of just hype each other up at halftime," D'Ambrosio said. "Like, 'we're down seven, we're down eight. Who cares?' It's a game. There's ups and downs. So, we just try to stay positive. I think positivity is a huge thing and finding our confidence."

BY THE NUMBERS

• Gianna Samuels led the team with 16 points and two assists. Three of her six rebounds were on the offensive end.
• In 15 minutes off the bench, Lia Samuels had seven points, four rebounds, and a team-best five steals.
• The Pride had a 14-4 advantage in bench points.

HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SPRINGFIELD

• Gianna Samuels scored Widener's first five points of the game. Springfield would score 13 in a row before Lia Samuels broke the streak with a trip to the foul line. Widener played good defense in the quarter, capitalizing with steals off Springfield turnovers. However, neither team could develop a solid rhythm, since a majority of the points toward the end of the quarter came on free throws. Springfield led 19-12 after one.
• The two sides exchanged buckets to open the second quarter. With some initial missed shots, the Pride went to the foul line to cut into the deficit. In the waning minutes, Widener gained closer to the lead with a Mary McFillin triple and a Mia Robbins' and-one. Gianna Samuels stole the ball with 17 seconds remaining to get the Pride one last shot before the break, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Springfield led at the half 35-26.
• Robbins had a 5-0 run to start the third set of 10 minutes. Lia Samuels and McFillin made more defensive plays to keep Springfield's lead at four. At 4:01, the Samuels' sisters got the perimeter game moving. Gianna hit a triple off an assist from Lia. On the very next possession, Lia's triple on a Gianna dime gave the Pride the lead. A D'Ambrosio triple tied the score at 42, which was also the final shot of the quarter.
• After a few misses to open the quarter, Gianna Samuels got the Pride's first bucket on a Lindsay Kutz assist. Widener was finding success at getting shots, while Springfield went to the foul line a couple of times. With the Pride down 47-46, a Robbin's layup gave them the lead, and they did not look back. More free throws put the game out of reach, and Widener won 57-50.

UP NEXT
The Pride will take on the Bates College Bobcats, this weekend's host, in the second round. The game will be tomorrow, Saturday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.