FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, February 25, 1999

ETOWN EARNS RETURN TRIP TO MAC FINALS WITH 76-66 WIN OVER KING'S; BLUE JAYS WILL TRAVEL TO SCRANTON SATURDAY

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa --- Kim Boback (Croydon, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) and Shauntae Stancil (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) scored 16 points apiece to lead Elizabethtown to a 76-66 win over King's in Middle Atlantic Conference semifinal action on Thursday.  With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 24-2 on the season, the program's highest victory total of the decade.

Etown also earned a rematch with the University of Scranton in the MAC championship game on Saturday at Scranton.  Game time is 7 p.m.  The Lady Royals defeated Susquehanna, 82-65, at home on Thursday.

Carmen Chiles (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) scored 13 points and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Blue Jays defeated King's for the second time this season and snapped the Lady Monarchs' eight-game winning streak.  Abbie Fabian (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) also scored in double figures with 12 points and added eight boards.

Joanne Polakoski scored a game-high 25 points for King's, which fell to 18-8 on the season.  Kim Stetter added 17 points and current national player of the week Heather Medashefski tossed in 15 points in the losing effort.  The Lady Monarchs are still in the running for a berth in the NCAA tournament, which begins next week.

Leading 30-26 at halftime, the Blue Jays went on a 10-3 run after the break to take a 40-29 lead with 17:01 remaining.  Allison Lucey (Bethlehem, Pa./Notre Dame) extended the Etown lead to 45-33 with a three-pointer at the 15:11 mark, but the Lady Monarchs responded with the game's next six points to cut the deficit to 45-39.

Following a timeout, however, Etown used four points from Boback and four from Jamie Porter (Glenolden, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) to open a 53-39 lead and take control of the game.  King's pulled within 58-50 with 5:07 to play, but the Blue Jays reeled off the next eight points and cruised to the win.

Etown, which is ranked first in the Mid-Atlantic region and 13th in Division III, is playing in its fourth MAC championship game in the past five seasons.  The Blue Jays fell in the MAC title game at Scranton in 1997.
 

MAC Semifinals	1	2	-	F
King's (18-8)	26	40	-	66
#11 Elizabethtown (24-2)	30	46	-	76

King's (66)
Tyler 1-1 0-0 2, Galella 0-2, 0-0 0, Medashefski 7-10 1-1 15, Stetter 6-11 2-2 17, Schneider 0-3 0-0 0, McCarron 0-2 0-0 0, Igo 2-14 1-2 5, Widdoes 1-1 0-1 2, Polakowski 9-18 5-5 25. Totals: 26-62 9-11 66.

Elizabethtown (76)
Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Hoffer 0-0 0-0 0, Fabian 4-9 4-5 12, Snavely 0-0 0-0 0, Goldstein 1-7 0-0 2, Lucey 2-3 4-4 9, Scinto 0-0 0-0 0, Porter 4-6 0-0 8, Kudel 0-0 0-0 0, Still 0-0 0-2 0, Boback 8-12 0-0 16, Stancil 8-11 0-0 16, Chiles 4-6 5-6 13. Totals: 31-55 13-17 76.

Three-pointers: King's 5-19 (Galella 0-1, Medashefski 0-1, Stetter 3-7, Schneider 0-2, McCarron 0-2, Igo 0-3, Polakowski 2-3), Elizabethtown 1-6 (Goldstein 0-4, Lucey 1-2). Rebounds: King's 29 (Igo 8), Elizabethtown 37 (Fabian 8). Assists: King's 14 (Igo 4), Elizabethtown 20 (Chiles 4, Stancil 4, Lucey 4). Turnovers: King's 21, Elizabethtown 20. Blocked Shots: King's 2 (Medashefski 2), Elizabethtown 3 (Fabian 2). Steals: King's 9 (Stetter 4), Elizabethtown 16 (Fabian 4, Chiles 4). Personal Fouls: King's 15, Elizabethtown 13. Technical Fouls: None. Attendance: 450.