PITT-GREENSBURG, ALFRED STATE WOMEN EARN FIRST ROUND VICTORIES

In AMCC women's basketball first round games, #3 Pitt-Greensburg defeated #6 Penn State Altoona 64-52, while #5 Alfred State College earned the 68-60 upset victory over #4 Hilbert College. Pitt-Greensburg and Alfred State will each advance to the AMCC semifinals to be played Friday evening at La Roche University. The Pioneers will take on top seed La Roche at 6:00pm, while the Bobcats will square off with #2 Penn State Behrend at 8:30pm. 

Pitt-Greensburg 64, Penn State Altoona 52
The game opened with six straight Bobcat points. Lockdown defense was the name of the game in the opening ten minutes for the Blue and Gold, as they held Penn State Altoona to 2-of-13 shooting and just five points. That first quarter surge would be all that Pitt-Greensburg needed. The Lions made their best effort throughout the second half to make a comeback, but the Bobcats never let up and led from wire-to-wire to clinch the first post-season win of the Coach Oddis era. Nadege Durand stepped up huge throughout the game, ending with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds. Melina Maietta was scoring from every spot on the court, as she netted 20 points off of two three-pointers and a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free throw line. Converting at the line was the difference maker late in the game for Pitt-Greensburg, they finished 16-for-18 from the stripe, including a perfect 11-for-11 in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Rebounding was all Bobcats, as they boosted their conference leading margin with a +14 spread (48-34) today on the glass. Shaquoia McCray had 11 and Durand 10, as seven Bobcats pulled down multiple boards. Sidney McCully dished out six of the team's eight assists. Penn State Altoona's Alexis Cannistraci produced her third double-double of the season with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, and she also contributed three assists, one steal, and one block. Cannistraci's block moved her into sole possession of first place in the Penn State Altoona women's basketball program's all-time blocks list.

Alfred State 68, Hilbert 60
The No. 5 seeded Alfred State women's basketball team has advanced to the AMCC semifinals for the first time in program history after beating the No. 4 seeded Hilbert College Hawks 68-60 Tuesday evening. Maisy Booth came off the bench to lead the Pioneers with 23 points, 13 rebounds and recorded four blocks, two steals and two assists. Emily Kelleyadded 15 points and seven rebounds. My'ana Davis chipped in 10 points and three assists. The Pioneers shot 58.8% in the first quarter and had a 21-8 advantage heading into the second. Alfred State took their largest lead of 15-points to start the second quarter and went into halftime up 31-24. The Hawks out-scored the Pioneers 19-18 in the third quarter but Alfred State held a 49-43 edge heading into the final quarter. The Pioneers opened the fourth quarter with a seven-point run to take a 13-point advantage and extended it to 15-points with 6:46 remaining. The Hawks went on an eight-point spree and came within six points of the lead but Alfred State was able to hold off Hilbert from coming any closer and finished the game with two free throws for the eight point win. Alfred State shot 47% in field goals, 50% in free throws, had 17 assists and picked up 50 rebounds. Hilbert recorded 25.9% in field goals, 56% in free throws and had 52 rebounds. Hilbert's Ashley Schroeder led the Hawks with 18 points, while Macy Kisner recorded her 12th double-double this season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.