BOX SCORE

Gwynedd Valley, Pa. (Feb. 27, 2008) – Top-seeded Gwynedd-Mercy College broke the 16th tie of the game with back-to-back 3s from junior Kristy Cramp (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) and got another 3 with two minutes to play en route to a 79-71 win over #4 Alvernia College Wednesday evening in semifinal action of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships at the Griffin Complex.

With Alvernia's move to the Freedom Conference for the 2008-09 school year it is the final meeting between the two schools in a storied rivalry. The two teams met four times in the PAC Final with Alvernia winning all four. Earlier this season the Crusaders (14-13) ended GMC's 43-game conference winning streak to set up the rubber match in Wednesday night's semifinal.

Alvernia got a layup after the first Cramp 3 and hit a jumper after the second, but the Griffins (21-5) answered that with five straight points and hit six free throws in the final two minutes for the eight point win.

The opening minutes of the game didn't have the feeling of the nervous tension associated with a heated playoff rivalry, but the shooting percentages sure showed it. Alvernia hit just one of its first six shots while Gwynedd-Mercy knocked down one of its first nine.

Alvernia took a 4-3 lead on a pair of free throws from Kelli McIntyre (Blue Mountain, Pa./Orwigsburg) after GMC senior Karen Tierney (Blue Bell, Pa./Kennedy-Kenrick) hit her first of three first-half 3s. Junior Ana Nieves (New Bedford, Mass./Greater New Bedford) scored on a layup and senior Jill Rosolie (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) put the Crusaders up five with a jumper prompting a GMC timeout.

Tierney knocked down her second 3 on the other side of the timeout and the Griffins tied the score on a Lauren Rosar (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) layup. The hosts then followed another Nieves layup with back-to-back 3s to take a four point lead, 14-10 with 11:31 left in the first. The Griffins shot 5-of-14 from beyond the arc in the opening half, but the Crusaders stayed with the pace from long range hitting 4-of-10 on their own end.

Alvernia junior Allee Barnes (Blooming Glen, Pa./Pennridge) banked in a 3 from the top of the key and freshman Alex Velazquez (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead.

The lead then changed hands three times with Tierney scoring four points during a 6-0 Griffin run that put the hosts up four, 24-20 with 7:16 to go in the half. Rosolie hit a 3 and McIntyre scored four straight for a 27-24 Alvernia lead. The lead grew to four points on a Joanna Graber (Manalapan, N.J./Notre Dame) 3, five on McIntyre's only 3 of the half, and up to seven, 37-30 on two Rosolie free throws.

The teams came up empty of their next possessions as the first half clock wound under a minute. Rosolie missed a pair of free throws that could have extended the lead to nine and the defense lost Tierney in the left corner and the senior guard knocked down her third 3 of the half to pull the Griffins within four at the break, 37-33.

Alvernia shot a solid 41 percent from the floor in the opening half. The Crusaders collected just one carom off the offensive glass and were down 23-13 overall in rebounds at the break. McIntyre led the way with 11 points for the Crusaders while Tierney paced the Griffins' efforts with 15.

McIntyre doubled that number in the second half to finish with a game-high 22 points while Tierney scored 21 for the hosts. Rosolie added 16 for the Crusaders and five Griffins reached double figures including Rosar who finished with 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.

Gwynedd-Mercy will host #2 Cabrini College in Saturday's Final. The Cavaliers defeated #3 Misericordia 57-49 in overtime in Wednesday's other semifinal

#1 Gwynedd-Mercy 79, #4 Alvernia 71