Boxscore
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (February 19, 2011) - The Penn State Berks women's basketball team downed St. Elizabeth, 63-58, on Saturday afternoon to clinch a spot in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) playoffs.
The Nittany Lions (13-12, 12-10 NEAC) had an identical conference record as SUNY Cobleskill. The two teams will await to find out who is the No. 5 seed and who is No. 6 seed via tiebreaker.
Steph Binder played a vital role in the Nittany Lions wins the last two games with the season on the line. The senior recorded her second straight double-double after dropping 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Screaming Eagles (10-14, 10-11 NEAC).
Junior SHAKIYLA STONE has also been a veteran leader down the stretch for Berks. She scored a team-high 16 points, marking the sixth time in seven games that Stone had at least 12 points.
A layup by EMILY PUFNOCK gave Berks its first lead (14-12) with 12:13 to play in the first half and they never trailed the rest of the way. The Lions led 32-26 at intermission and built as much as a nine point cushion during the second half.
Pufnock and JAMIE NORRIS each added eight points for Berks. DORIAN BISHOP, who was honored with Binder for Senior Day on Wednesday, gave a strong all around effort. She had a team-best five assists to go with five boards and two blocked shots.
Sabrina Jarmolinski had game-high 24 points, while Maesoon Deeb chipped in 10 and recorded 17 rebounds. Jarmolinski and Anastasia Feola each handed out six assists and Deeb notched five blocked shots.
The Screaming Eagles won the rebound battle 56-54, but the Lions committed less turnovers (20-14). Both teams made 15 shots at the foul line, but the Lions need 13 more trips than the Eagles.
The NEAC playoffs begin next Saturday and will be played at the No. 1 seed Gallaudet University.