BETHLEHEM, PA - The Medaille College women's basketball team was cruising to an easy victory in the ECAC Semifinals against Bethany College (WV) on the campus of Moravian College, but the Bisons mustered a furious comeback and Medaille held on for an (84-72) victory to advance to the Championship game.

The Lady Mavs controlled play for (31 of 40) minutes but an impressive run by Bethany in the late going turned a blowout into a gut wrenching win for Medaille.  The Lady Mavs grabbed a (25) point lead with (9:05) remaining and were poised to roll to victory.  The Bisons had different plans as they began to press, knock down shots, and force Medaille into a slew of turnovers, cutting the Medaille lead to five with just under three minutes to play.

The Lady Mavs would knock down the majority of their free throws down the stretch in securing the victory.  Senior Tanisha Travis played a huge role in the win as she matched a game high with (22) points while pulling down a team best (11) boards.  Tanisha knocked down a critical bucket with less than two minutes remaining on a nice post move that stopped a Bethany run.  The Lady Mavs would control the game from that point on.

Sophomore Joelle Pollak showed why she was named a 1st Team All-Conference player by finishing with a (19) point, (10) rebound, and (5) assist day.  Pollak connected on (3 of 6) shots from long range and sealed the victory for Medaille by knocking down (8 of 10) shots from the charity stripe.  Also playing a key role was Brittney Rowland who netted (11) points on (5 of 7) shooting from the floor while dishing out three assists and coming up with a pair of steals on the defensive end of the floor.

For the game Medaille was (48.1%) from the field, (50.0%) from beyond the arc while shooting at a (77.4%) clip from the free throw line.  The Lady Mavs shared the basketball well as they had (17) assists on (26) made field goals.

The win pushes Medaille's record to (23-5) on the year.  They will look to win the College's first ECAC Championship when they face #2 seed Moravian College in the title game tomorrow (3/4) at 1:00pm. 

SEASON STATS