CHESTER, Pa. – Down two with 5.6 seconds left, junior Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) inbounded the ball, ran behind the 3-point line in the center of the court and took a dribble handoff from freshman Kelly Vuz (Blairstown, Pa./North Warren Regional), dribbled once and lifted a high-arcing shot that bounced off the glass and through the net as the clock ticked under a second left, giving the Lycoming College women's basketball team a 66-65 win over Widener University in a battle for second place in the MAC Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 15, at the Schwartz Athletic Center.
 
The 3-point basket gave Lycoming (8-3 overall, 5-1 MAC Commonwealth) its first and only lead of the game, as the Warriors rallied back from a 12-point deficit midway through the third. After the bucket, Widener (10-2 overall, 3-2 MAC Commonwealth) called timeout with 0.8 seconds left and were able to inbounds and throw a shot off the rim, but it fell away, setting off a celebration for the visitors.
 
Junior Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) posted a season-high 19 points to go with five points, four steals and two assists to lead the Warriors. Kline finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists and sophomore Erica Lutz (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) added 14 points, nine rebounds, a block and a steal. Vuz, making her first collegiate start, finished with five points and two assists and senior Shelby Schoonover (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) added five points and two rebounds.
 
Lycoming shot 48 percent (29-of-61) in the game, aided by a 61 percent (11-of-18) effort in the fourth quarter, overcoming a seven-point deficit heading into the quarter.
 
Widener led by nine after scoring the first bucket of the fourth, but Vuz answered with a huge 3-pointer and a jumper by senior Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) made it a four-point game with nine minutes left. The Warriors kept pressuring and a jumper on the break by freshman Allison Wagner (York, Pa./Central York) tied it at 55 with 5:39 left. Widener didn't let the Warriors take the lead though, and even led by four with five minutes left before the Warriors fought back to tie it at 59 with 4:12 left. From there, both teams traded points. With the score tied at 63 with 30 seconds left, the Warriors got the ball, but a travelling violation gave it back to Widener. Widener's Devan Rimmer drove the baseline with five seconds left and drew a foul, hitting both free throws before Lycoming called timeout and advance the ball to set up the dramatic end.
 
Lycoming appeared to play catchup throughout the game, with Widener jumping out to a 20-12 lead in the first 8:18 of the game before the Warriors scored the last four points of the first quarter. Widener separated again in the second quarter, leading by seven at 29-22, before the Warriors fought back to close within two at 33-31 at halftime with a 9-4 run finishing the half. In the third quarter, the Pride started out on a 12-2 run, leading 45-33 with 4:08 left before the Warriors cut the lead down to five at 47-42 with 53 seconds left in the period.
 
Erin Phelan led the Pride with 21 points and Rimmer posted 19 points and three assists. Mackenzie McCracken notched 12 points and seven rebounds and Madison Ireland posted five points and 11 assists.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Dec. 29, when they host Rutgers-Newark in the opening round of the Hoops for Hounds Tournament at 5 p.m. in Lamade Gym.