BOX SCORE

Baltimore, Md. (Feb. 9, 2008) – Freshman guard Lil Snyder (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg) reached double figures for the third straight game with 18 points to lead Alvernia College to a 70-54 win over the College of Notre Dame Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women's basketball action at the MBK Center.

Snyder scored four points of a game-opening 11-0 run for the Crusaders (10-12, 9-4 PAC) and the guests never trailed. The defense limited CND to just 29 percent from the floor, 19-for-66. The Gators (5-15, 3-9 PAC) pulled down 22 offensive rebounds leading to 21 second-chance points, but could not recover from the opening spurt.

Alvernia freshman Kelli McIntyre (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain) joined Snyder in double figures with 11 points while a pair of Gators reached double digits. Sasha Matthew (Belcamp, Md./Joppatowne) scored a team-best 17 and Kierra Scott (Baltimore, Md./Patterson) added 13.

Alvernia junior Ana Nieves (New Bedford, Mass./Greater New Bedford) opened the scoring with a free throw and added two more after an August Reichardt (Kenhorst, Pa./Governor Mifflin) jumper for a 5-0 lead. Snyder then scored two buckets to bookend a Nieves layup and the Crusaders held an 11-0 lead with more than six minutes gone.

The early lead grew to as many as 14 points following a Michelle Lutzkanin (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) 3 with 11:40 left in the first, but back came the Gators cutting the gap to eight points with a 6-0 run. Scott started it with a pair of free throws and Matthew closed it with a layup.

Snyder canned her first 3 to push the lead back to 11 and the Crusaders rattled off eight straight, capped by another Snyder 3 to double the lead to 16 points, 32-16 with 4:27 on the clock.

The lead grew to 17 points and two Joanna Graber (Manalapan, N.J./Notre Dame) free throws gave Alvernia a 41-28 lead at the break.

CND cut the second half lead down to six points, but Lutzkanin hit a pair of 3s during a 13-4 lead that built a 62-47 lead, and helped the Crusaders improve to 10-2 when they hold a halftime lead.

Alvernia will return home to host Misericordia University in a women's and men's doubleheader. Both teams will be wearing pink warm-up shirts prior to the game to support the Women's Basketball Coaches Association “Think Pink” campaign to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.

Alvernia 70, College of Notre Dame 54