Immaculata Women Headed to CSAC Title Game

The Immaculata University women's basketball team is headed to the Colonial States Athletic Conference championship game on Saturday after defeating Marywood University of Scranton, 78-64, in the conference semi-final game on Wednesday night.

The Mighty Macs (19-8) will travel to Aston to face number one seed Neumann University for the title at a time to be announced.

Against Marywood, the Macs allowed the Pacers (19-7) to take an early 4-3 lead, before taking control of the rest of the game.

The Macs, who got a 20-point night from Rachel Denis, were ahead 28-18 at the eight minute mark of the first half and built it to a 43-23 halftime lead as Immaculata shot 53.1 percent from the field for the half.

Marywood tried to climb back into the game with a run of eight straight points to start the second half (43-31) but couldn't catch up. The Immaculata lead dipped to seven at one point, but the Macs staged their own rally and put up nine straight (50-37).

Sealing the win for IU were 12 of 14 foul shots at the end that resulted in the 78-64 final. For the game, the Macs shot 80 percent (16-for-20) from the free throw line. Immaculata was also 10-for-20 from behind the three-point line.

Along with Denis' big night, Kelly Brown threw in 18 and Chelsea McTigue contributed 15. Bridget Welz joined the double-digit scoring parade with 10 points.

During the regular season, Immaculata lost to Neumann (19-7) twice by a total of six points, 68-65 and 58-55.

An Immaculata win on Saturday would mean not only a CSAC title but also an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.