Amelia Brooks
Amelia Brooks

Top-Seeded Women’s Basketball Hosts Wilkes-Barre Tuesday In PSUAC Quarterfinals

MEDIA, Pa. -- Top-seeded Penn State Brandywine returns to the Penn State University Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament for the 16th-straight season when it opens tournament play Tuesday at home against No.4 seed Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

Brandywine won all six of its conference games during the month of February, officially securing the No. 1 seed with a 64-42 victory over Penn State Mont Alto Friday night.

The Lions enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the league, having been victorious in seven-straight games; however, Brandywine's most recent loss came at the hands of Wilkes-Barre on the road in late January.

Brandywine led that game 63-62 with 45 seconds to play, but Wilkes-Barre made four free throws and held Brandywine scoreless down the stretch to earn the victory. The loss was just the second for the Lions in their last 13 games against Wilkes-Barre, ending their 10-game winning streak in the series.

Earlier this winter, Brandywine cruised to a victory when the teams met in Media, posting a 69-48 triumph. Madison D'Ambrosio and Amanda Floyd both recorded double-doubles in the win, while Nikki Velez added 12 points. The Lions held a commanding edge on the boards, outrebounding Wilkes-Barre 69-29.

Velez, Brandywine's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,700 points, is the top scorer in the PSUAC, averaging 19.2 points per outing this season. Floyd (12.3 ppg) and D'Ambrosio (10.5 ppg) also average in double figures and are the Lions' top two rebounders.

A victory Tuesday would send Brandywine to the PSUAC semifinals for the 15th-straight year, with all but one of those appearances having come under Head Coach Larry Johnson, who owns 263 wins in his 14 years on the Brandywine sideline.

As the top seed, Brandywine would host the lowest remaining seed from the west in the semifinal on Friday night. The Lions own a perfect 10-0 record on their home floor this season. The PSUAC Championship is Sunday at 4:00 pm in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

In Tuesday's other East Division quarterfinal, No. 2 Penn State Lehigh Valley hosts No. 3 Penn State Schuylkill. Penn State Beaver is the top seed from the West Division and will host Penn State Mont Alto, while second-seeded Penn State Fayette faces third-seeded Penn State DuBois.