WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Hosting their first conference tournament game in 22 years, the No. 2 seed Lycoming College women's basketball team didn't disappoint, making a last defensive stand when senior Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) stood tall on the baseline to take a charge with 3.1 seconds left to seal a 65-64 win over No. 3 seed Widener University in the MAC Commonwealth Championship semifinal at Lamade Gym on Thursday night, Feb. 21.
 
The Warriors (18-8 overall) head to the MAC Commonwealth Championship final for the first time since joining the league in 2007-08 and advance to a conference final for the first time since 1990, when it reached the MAC Northern Division final. They will face top-seeded Messiah (24-1 overall) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Messiah's Hitchcock Arena.
 
With the game clock winding down, the conference's leading scorer, Devan Rimmer, got the ball in the left corner and she shimmied around senior Becca Painter (Elverson, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), taking to the baseline where Grove was set and waiting, drawing the charge.
 
Lycoming called timeout and advanced the ball and took a foul to get the clock to 2.4 seconds. After that, junior Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) found a wide open junior Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) in the paint, before Kline dribbled out the clock.
 
Lycoming held the lead for 36:27 of the game, and were able to withstand two late ties from Widener (19-7 overall) to hold on for the win. Sophomore Erica Lutz (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) gave Lycoming its last lead with a layup with 4:47 left and 86 seconds later, she went underneath for another layup to make it a six-point game at 63-57.
 
Widener pushed back, but a second-chance putback by Grove with 1:38 left made it 65-61. Lutz followed with a block on the defensive end, but on the ensuing inbounds, Rimmer hit a corner 3-pointer to make it a one-point game. Lycoming got a good luck at three and an offensive rebound, but a turnover gave Widener a chance in transition before Kline got a step on Rimmer and was called for a hand-check foul, which ended up turning off the shot clock, setting up Grove's charge.
 
For the second straight game, Painter finished with 20-plus points, posting 20 points, four rebounds and three steals. Lutz added 17 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, as she also added three steals and two blocks. Kline posted eight points and 10 rebounds, Grove had eight points and three assists and McFadden posted nine points and two assists.
 
The Warriors shot 45 percent from the field (27-of-60), including better than 50 percent in all but the third quarter, when Widener dropped a nine-point halftime deficit (44-35) to three points (51-48).
 
After Widener hit the first shot of the game, the Warriors went on a 12-2 run to take a 12-5 lead before Widener cut the deficit to three with 1:26 left in the period. The Warriors scored the last four points of the quarter, though, with Grove hitting a second-chance layup with two seconds left to make it 22-15. Lycoming pushed the lead to 15 early in the second quarter, with Lutz hitting a layup to make it 34-19 before Widener was able to cut the margin into single digits at the end of the period.
 
Rimmer led the Pride with 22 points, Erin Phelan notched 11 points and seven rebounds and Nicole Barnes posted 10 points and seven rebounds, as Widener shot 34 percent (23-of-68) from the field.