With a 14-0 record in conference play, the La Roche University women's basketball team has once again claimed the AMCC regular season title and hosting rights for the final four slated for this weekend. First round games tip off Tuesday evening, followed by the semifinals and championship game on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Tuesday's first round games will feature #6 Mount Aloysius College at #3 Pitt-Greensburg, while #4 Penn State Altoona hosts #5 Hilbert College. Both the Redhawks and #2 Penn State Behrend will receive first round byes.
With an undefeated AMCC record, La Roche enters the tournament as the top seed in the conference tournament. The Redhawks are led by senior guard Danajah Sanders who is tied for fourth in the AMCC with 16.4 points per game. Her 54 steals on the season are fourt-best in the league, while her 75 assists are sixth. Senior guard Machia Hairston averages a double-double for the Redhawks, as she leads the team and ranks second in the AMCC with 10.4 rebounds per game, while also scoring 15.1 points per game. Her 48.8 field goal percentage is third-best in the leauge and her 88 free throws are second. Sophomore guard/forward Makayla Abram rounds out the double-digit scorers for La Roche, as she contributes 14.0 points per game, while also adding 6.2 rebounds per game.
Coming in with a 12-2 record is No. 2 Penn State Behrend. Sophomore guard Rachel Majewski leads the Lions on offense, and tops the AMCC leaderboard, with 18.7 points per game. She has knocked down 44 three-pointers on the season, with her 34.9 three-point field goal percentage ranking fourth in the AMCC. Freshman guard Madilyn Boyer has had a strong rookie season for the Lions, as her 15.9 points per game rank her sixth in the conference while her 52.7 field goal percentage is tops in the league. She has connected on 46 three-pointers this season, with her 40.4 three-point field goal pecentage leads the conference. Boyer also adds 7.0 rebounds per game in addition to 76 assists and 49 steals on the year.
Pitt- Greensburg, with a 9-5 conference record, is the No. 3 seed. Senior guard Sidney McCully has been the backbone of the team all season, as her 18.5 points per game is second in the AMCC, while her 96 assists and 63 steals both lead the conference. McCully also averages 7.9 rebounds per game and has 20 blocks on the season. Sophomore guard Melina Maietta ranks fourth in the AMCC with 16.4 points per game while her 62 made three-pointers are tops in the league.
No. 4 Penn State Altoona enters the tournament with a 8-6 record in AMCC play. The Lions have seen a strong rookie season from freshman forward Avana Sayles who leads the team with 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while also adding 18 blocks and 32 steals. Freshman guard Jess Burns contributes 12.1 points per game to go along with 64 assists, while senior guard Sarah Huston adds 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.
With a 6-8 AMCC record is No. 5 Hilbert. Junior guard Ashley Schroeder leads the Hilbert offense, and ranks third in the AMCC, with 16.5 points per game, while adding 4.7 rebounds per game. Her 19 blocks are fifth-best in the AMCC this season. Sophomore guard Alesia Hamm adds 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
Rounding out the field is No. 6 Mount Aloysius College with a 4-10 record in conference play. Freshman forward China Jenkins leads the Mounties with 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while her 20 blocks on the season rank her second in the league. Also averaging double figures for the Mounties is Cameron Bates with 12.3 ppg.
The winner of the AMCC basketball championship tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament.
Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
First Round: Tuesday, February 21 -
8pm: #6 Mount Aloysius at #3 Pitt-Greensburg
7pm: #5 Hilbert at #4 Penn State Altoona
Byes: #1 La Roche, #2 Penn State Behrend
Championship Round at #1 La Roche
Semifinals: Friday, February 24
6pm: #1 La Roche v. winner 5v4
8:30pm: #2 Penn State Behrend vs. winner of 6v3
Finals: Saturday, February 25 - 4pm