LANCASTER, PA - Natalie Bizarro, Marie Levins and Staci Waligurski reached double digits in points as the Albright College Lions defeated Franklin & Marshall 65-59 to advance to a showdown with Defiance College in the championship game of the 17th Annual F&M Women's Basketball Tip-Off tournament.
Albright shot 14-of-24 from the field in the first half for a 58.3 percent with Bizzaro scoring eight points on four-of-six, while Levins and Waligurski each dumped in six apiece. Levins added four assists in the half as the Lions carried a narrow 31-29 advantage into halftime.
Franklin & Marshall stayed strong in the half as Lauren Dodrill (Sr.,Timonium, MD/Roland Park) led the way for the Diplomats with 10 points and seven rebounds, including six offensive boards. Maura Lentz (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) added seven points and three assists while Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) tacked on seven points and four steals as the Diplomats were poised to overtake Albright in the second half.
However, Albright was too much in the second half as Levins and Waligurski each scored seven points, while Meredith Berger added five points and five rebounds to hold on for the win. For the Diplomats, Johns scored 11 points, dished out three assists and added three steals in the last 20 minutes of play.
Overall, Johns led the way with 18 points on six-of-15 shooting from the field including two-of-seven from beyond the three points arc and four-of-five at the free-throw line while adding five assists and a game high seven steals. Dodrill chipped in 12 points with a game high 13 rebounds, while Lentz scored 10 points and dished out a game high six assists for the blue and white.
For the Lady Lions, Levins and Waligurski each scored 13 points while Bizzarro finished with 12 markers.
Albright will face a Defiance College team that handled Westfield State 67-60 in the second semifinal game. Leading the way for Defiance was Meghann Savard who dropped in 27 points and added nine rebounds while Meta Gerding scored 20 points, brought down 11 rebounds and dished out two assists. Kyana Zavala who netted 16 points and Melissa Macchi who scored 10 points led Westfield State.
Franklin & Marshall (0-1) will face Westfield State (0-1) at 1:00 p.m. on November 21 in the consolation game before Defiance and Albright clash in the title tilt at 3:00 p.m.
