Glenside, Pa. (March 18, 2021) - Alvernia University (5-3, 3-3) converted a last second layup to defeat Arcadia University (6-5, 5-3) in the #4 seed Women's Basketball MAC Crossover Challenge on Thursday night at Arcadia.

Alvernia scored the opening points of the game on a Jordan Karmonick layup and both Alvernia and Arcadia would remain within three points of each other for much of the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Alvernia's Kayla Williams put the Golden Wolves up by three, 14-11 with just under two minutes to play in the first frame, but Arcadia scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 15-14 lead into the second.

The Knights opened the second quarter with a bang, going on a 10-0 run over the first two minutes of the quarter to jump out to a 25-14 lead.

Alvernia stopped the Knight's burst with layups on three straight possessions, including two baskets from Kramer, to cut Arcadia's lead down to five 25-20, with 5:59 left in the half.

Alvernia continued on its own run with two made free throws by Tamia Wessels to cut it to a one possession game, 25-22, with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

The Knights and Golden Wolves would trade baskets over the next three minutes before a layup by Wessels tied it at 29-29 with 1:43 remaining. 

Arcadia and Alvernia would trade the lead before a free throw from Kramer in the final seconds of the half put Alvernia ahead 32-31 going into the break.

Alvernia would build on its lead in the third quarter, going up by ten, 46-36, on a Williams layup with 2:33 left in the third quarter. The Knights would score the final four points of the third quarter as Alvernia took the 46-40 lead into the final ten minutes.

The Knights opened the fourth quarter with two made free throws and a 3-pointer to cut Alvernia's lead down to one, 46-45, with 8:55 remaining.

Both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes before Arcadia took the lead, 47-46, on a layup by Taylor Fritz with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

The Knights held the lead for just over three minutes before Alvernia tied it up at 49-49 on a free throw from Wessels and took the 51-49 lead on a jumper from Taliyah Malone with 1:43 remaining.

The Knights tied it up on a layup with 2.6 seconds remaining in the game. 

Alvernia then called a timeout to advance the ball to their offensive end of the court, and drew up an inbounds play to Kramer. The play was successful as Kramer converted a layup as time expired to lift Alvernia to the 54-52 win.

Cathryn Kramer led Alvernia with a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double. She also finished with six blocks and five steals on the night. Kayla Williams also reached double digit scoring with 11 points, and Julia Ewen finished with 13 rebounds.

The 54-52 win over the Knights marked the end of Alvernia's 2021 season. The Golden Wolves finished 5-3 overall and 3-3 in MAC Commonwealth play. It's Alvernia's first time finishing over .500 since the 2009-10 season. Alvernia also finished fourth overall in the MAC Commonwealth, tying its best overall finish since Alvernia joined the conference prior to the 2009-10 season.

Tonight's win also marked the end of Ewen's collegiate career. Despite an injury shortened sophomore season and this year's shortened season, Ewen finishes her career as just the 12th Women's Basketball player in program history to finish with 500+ career rebounds. She finishes her career with 523.