FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 27, 1999

SCRANTON HITS THE BOARDS TO DEFEAT ETOWN, 81-60, IN MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME; BLUE JAYS AWAIT NCAA TOURNAMENT SEEDING

SCRANTON, Pa --- Kelly Halpin scored 31 points and Gillian McGovern added 25 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to lead 12th-ranked Scranton (25-2) past Elizabethtown, 81-60, in the Middle Atlantic Conference championship on Saturday.  It was Scranton's 13th conference title.

The Blue Jays fell to 24-3 on the season and lost in the MAC championship game for the third straight season.  Etown also lost its 13th consecutive game to Scranton, dating back to 1991.  The Blue Jays are still expected to receive the No. 2 seed in the Mid-Atlantic region and a first-round bye when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced on Sunday night.

Abbie Fabian (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half while Carmen Chiles (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) added 12 points in the losing effort.  Shauntae Stancil (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) tossed in 11 points to move into eighth place on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,295 career points.

Etown stayed closed through the game's first ten minutes, pulling within 21-17 after Kim Boback's 17-footer with 7:32 left in the first half.

Kate Dougherty answered with a put-back for Scranton and Halpin nailed a pullup jumper to give the Lady Royals a 25-17 edge.  After Boback stroked another jumper off an inbounds pass, Halpin drilled the first of her two three-pointers to give Scranton a 28-19 lead with 5:19 left in the half.

The Lady Royals used six points from McGovern and tenacious offensive rebounding to open up a 41-26 advantage heading into the locker room.

Etown responded with the first four points of the second half, but Scranton went on a 10-0 run to take a 51-30 lead and cruise to the victory.

The Lady Royals outrebounded the Blue Jays 45-23 on the night and held a 22-4 edge on the offensive glass.  Etown shot 23-for-47 (48.9 percent) from the field on the night, but only 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) from the free throw line.
 

MAC Championship	1	2	-	F
#13 Elizabethtown (24-3)	26	34	-	60
#12 Scranton (25-2)	41	40	-	81

Elizabethtown (60)
Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Fabian 6-8 2-3 14, Goldstein 2-5 1-3 5, Lucey 1-3 0-0 3, Scinto 1-1 1-2 4, Porter 0-4 2-3 2, Boback 4-5 1-2 9, Stancil 5-12 1-4 11, Chiles 4-9 4-6 12. Totals: 23-47 12-23 60.

Scranton (81)
Kuntz 0-0 0-0 0, Hurleman 0-1, 0-0 0, McGovern 5-11 13-16 25, Halpin 9-16 11-11 31, Mohrman 2-8 0-2 5, Harris 2-6 2-2 6, Milder 5-7 0-2 10, Eilbacher 1-4 0-0 2, Tracy 0-0 0-0 0, Dougherty 1-6 0-2 2, Walsh 0-2 0-0 0, Crotty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-61 26-35 81.

Three-pointers: Elizabethtown 2-6 (Goldstein 0-2, Lucey 1-2, Scinto 1-1, Chiles 0-1), Scranton 5-11 (McGovern 2-2, Halpin 2-3, Mohrman 1-3, Eilbacher 0-2, Dougherty 0-1). Rebounds:  Elizabethtown 31 (Stancil 5, Porter 5), Scranton 49 (McGovern 13). Assists: Elizabethtown 19 (Chiles 4), Scranton 22 (Halpin 6, Harris 6). Turnovers: Elizabethtown 19, Scranton 15. Blocked Shots: Elizabethtown 5 (Stancil 2), Scranton 0. Steals: Elizabethtown 7 (Chiles 3), Scranton 11 (Halpin 4). Personal Fouls: Elizabethtown 21, Scranton 21. Technical Fouls: None. Attendance: 1500.