McCANDLESS, Pa. - No 1. seed La Roche took down No. 2 seed Hilbert College 88-69 Saturday afternoon at the Kerr Fitness Center to win their eighth AMCC Championship. The Redhawks outscored the Hawks 29-13 in the fourth quarter to pull away. All five starters for LRU finished in double-digit scoring figures led by Senior standout Jenna Cole who finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Cole shot an impressive 7 of 14 from the field and 8 of 11 from the line.
Head Coach Kamela Gissendanner earned her sixth conference title in just seven seasons with the Redhawks (2013-2017, 2020). The three time AMCC Coach of the Year is an incredible 12-1 in the AMCC postseason.
Ayanna Mazyck posted 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.
Shaundrea Butler contributed 17 points, four steals, two rebounds and game-high seven assists while only committing two turnovers.
Danajah Sanders scored 14 points while shooting 4 of 7 from long range. Sanders added three steals and two rebounds.
Dasja Anderson finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Cole and Mazyck were named to the AMCC All-Tournament team.
Today's AMCC Championship victory is the first for all 13 student-athletes of the La Roche women's basketball team. La Roche will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA national tournament.
Final: La Roche 88, Hilbert 69
How it Happened
Both teams came out strong in the first quarter as the lead went back-and-forth throughout the first several minutes. Hilbert took a five point lead when Ashley Schroeder sunk two free throws with 5:10 to play in the first to make the score 11-6. La Roche then went on a run of their own, scoring the next seven points, to take the 13-11 lead with 2:41 to go. The Hawks were able to tie the game on several more occations, but could not go ahead the rest of the first quarter, as the Redhawks led 21-17 after one.
La Roche maintained control of the game in the second quarter, stretching their lead to as many as ten points on two occasions, while the Hawks weren't able to get any closer than three. La Roche took a six point, 39-33 lead, into the locker room at halftime. La Roche G Shaundrea Butler led all scorers in the first half with 12 points, while Ashley Repine had 11 for Hilbert.
The second half started out with Hilbert and La Roche exchanging three baskets a piece, until the Redhawks were able to put together three baskets in a row, which started and ended with Butler, to give the Redhawks a 10 point advantage with 6:19 to go in the third. A Hilbert free throw by Repine and two more La Roche baskets by Ayanna Mazyck extended the Redhawk lead to 14 with 5:33 on the clock. Six points each from Repine and Emily Gawlak cut the Redhawk lead to three (59-56) heading into the fourth quarter.
Hilbert kept the game close for most of the final frame until the Redhawks started to pull away with just under 3:00 minutes to play in the game. Danajah Sanders nailed a three with 2:55 on the clock to put La Roche up by 12 (74-62) and the Redhawks would hold on to their double digit lead for the remainder of the game. The final eight Redhawk points would come from the free throw line, with Jenna Cole sinking four of the eight, to set the final at 88-69.
- Courtesy of the AMCC
Inside the Box Score
As a unit, the Redhawks shot 50.8% (30-59) from the field. LRU is 8-0 this season when shooting 50% or better.
LRU posted 13 steals and forced the Hawks to committ 19 turnovers. La Roche scored 24 points off those giveaways.
The Redhawks on the other hand committed just nine turnovers, tied for their season-low.
La Roche knocked down 19 of 25 (76%) free throw attempts, thier second most made free throws in a game this season.
LRU edged out Hilbert on the glass, 30-29.
NEXT UP: Women's basketball will find out who they face in Round 1 of the NCAA D-III tournament on Monday afternoon. Updates to follow.
