The AMCC women's basketball championship tournament kicks off Wednesday evening when #3 Pitt-Bradford hosts #6 Hilbert College and when#4 Mount Aloysius College hosts #5 Penn State Behrend. La Roche College (21-4, 18-0 AMCC), winners of the past six AMCC women's basketball championships, looks to be on the path to claim their seventh, as they finished the regular season with a perfect 18-0 conference record.
The Redhawks have once again earned the top seed and hosting rights to the championship tournament. Senior forward TiChina Mitchell leads the conference with 22.8 points per game while defending AMCC Player of the Year, senior guard Sabrina McLin, is right behind her with 22.6. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year, senior forward Danasha Harris is tops in the league with a 53.6 field goal percentage and ranks fourth with 9.0 rebounds per game. Harris' 108 steals are tops in the league.
Second-seeded Medaille College (13-12, 12-6 AMCC) has experienced an incredible turnaround season, as they finished in 10th place in the conference just one season ago. Junior forward/center Dani Reinwald has been a big reason for the Mavs' recent success. Reinwald returned to Medaille mid-season after transferring to Behrend for her sophomore season. The team started out 0-4 in conference play in December before going on a nine-game win streak in January. Reinwald has averaged 16.9 points and 17.1 rebounds per game since her return to the Maverick bench, and also leads the conference with 2.4 blocks per game. Senior guards Kelli McCauley and MarceAnn Dunning are right behind her with 16.6 and 16.4 points per game, respectively.
#3 seed Pitt-Bradford (15-10, 12-6 AMCC) is looking for their first conference title since the 1997-98 season, which was the first women's basketball championship in conference history. The Panthers are led by junior guard Ali Rinfrette who is third in the conference with 21.0 points per game, and also leads the Panthers with 7.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward Brittany Watts is the only other Panther averaging double figures, as she averages 12.9 points per game, along with 7.2 rebounds.
Mount Aloysius College (11-14, 9-9 AMCC) has earned the #4 seed in this year's tournament. Freshman forward Jessa Wright has had an impressive rookie campaign, as she leads the Mounties with 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Breana Kendrick also averages double figures with 12.2 points per game.
#5 Penn State Behrend (10-15, 9-9 AMCC) is led by freshman forward Katie Chess who averages 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Heidi Langhurst and junior guard Erika Woll each average 9.4 points for the Lions.
For just the second time in program history, and first time since 2006, Hilbert College (11-14, 8-10 AMCC) has earned a spot in the conference playoffs and has earned the #6 seed. The Hawks are led offensively by junior guard Kelsi Ebert who averages 16.4 points per game, along with 5.0 rebounds 3.9 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Freshman guard/forward Taylor Corts averages 11.0 points, while junior forward Shannon Rogers grabs 8.2 rebounds per game.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
First Round: Wednesday, February 22, 2017
#1 La Roche (bye)
#2 Medaille (bye)
Championship Round at La Roche College
Semifinals:
Saturday, February 25, 2017
1:00pm: #1 La Roche vs. winner of 4v5
3:30pm: #2 Medaille vs. winner of 3v6
Finals: Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 1:00 p.m.
Click here for the women's basketball tournament information page.