The AMCC women's basketball tournament will tip off Tuesday evening when #6 Franciscan University travels to #3 Pitt-Greensburg and #5 Medaille College goes to #4 Penn St. Altoona. #1 La Roche College and #2 Pitt-Bradford will each receive first round byes.
Top-seeded La Roche (20-5, 17-1 AMCC), the reigning AMCC tournament champion, became the first team to claim five consecutive AMCC regular season titles. Sophomore Sabrina McLin stands at the number two spot in the league with her 17.9 points per game, while senior LaShauna Brothers is fifth with 15.3. McLin is tops in the league in free throw percentage with 84.3%.
Pitt-Bradford (17-7, 14-4 AMCC) and Pitt-Greensburg (16-9, 12-6 AMCC) split earlier this season, with each team picking up the W on their home court. The Panthers will look for leadership from senior Alicia Kimmel, who ranks fourth in points per game with 16.0 and is second in field goal percentage with 50.3.
Pitt-Greensburg will look to their senior leadership in seniors Morgan Biddle and Kayla Dames. Biddle enters post-season play sixth in the conference in scoring with 14.9 points per game and Dames, the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year, averages 13.0 points. Biddle is also tops in the league with a 55.2% field goal percentage.
Franciscan (10-14, 8-10 AMCC) and Penn St. Altoona (10-15, 9-9 AMCC) also split during the regular season, however, the Barons and Lions both picked up the win on the road. With a win over D'Youville on Saturday, Franciscan made school history by making it into the AMCC women's basketball tournament for the first time in program history. The Barons are led by senior Lacey Huck and sophomore Iliana Gonzales who are both tied for eighth in the AMCC in scoring with 14.0 points per game.
Tuesday will mark the first time that the Penn-State Altoona women's basketball has earned a home playoff game since the 2009-2010 season, and it will be the Lady Lions' first AMCC Tournament appearance since 2010-2011. Senior Moira Corrigan, who averages a double-double, leads the conference with 13.9 rebounds per game and is third in scoring with 16.4 points per game.
Medaille (10-15, 9-9 AMCC) will rely on lone senior Alicia Montalvo who is seventh in the AMCC with 14.3 points per game and fourth in rebounds per game with 9.2. The Mavericks will also look to sharp-shooting freshman Marceann Dunning, who is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (37.2) and averages 13.1 points per game.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
First Round: Tuesday, February 24, 2015
#6 Franciscan University at #3 Pitt-Greensburg, time TBA
#5 Medaille College at #4 Penn St. Altoona, 7:00 p.m.
Championship Round at La Roche College
Semifinals: Friday, February 27, 2015
6pm: #1 La Roche College vs. winner of 4v5
8pm: #2 Pitt-Bradford vs. winner of 3v6
#1 La Roche College (bye)
#2 Pitt-Bradford (bye)
Finals: Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 3pm