Chesnut Hill, MA – The University of Valley Forge Women's Basketball team took on the Kangaroos of Suny Canton in the semifinals of the ACAA Conference Tournament. The Patriot beat SUNY Canton 66-50 to advance to the Championship game against Pine Manor College on Sunday, February 25
th at 2:30 pm.
The Patriots (14-8) had three players score in double figures:
Jhanel Brown had 24 points along with 6 rebounds. Natalie Cortes had 21 points and 13 rebounds and
Bailey Mayforth added 11 points for UVF.
The Roos (12-14) were led by Antanasia Chambers with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sade Rogers added 13 points for SUNY Canton.
Each team matched each other's output for the first seven minutes of the first quarter. The Roos closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 15-10 after one period of play.
Twice SUNY Canton built an 8 point lead in the 2
nd quarter and twice the Patriots were able to chip away at the lead. With 1:38 left in the half, the Patriot's
Kaitlyn Hess nailed a 3 and following a jumper from
Carlee Conrad, the Patriots went into halftime trailing by a score of 29-26.
After an early Kangaroo bucket pushed the Canton lead to 5 early in the 3
rd quarter, the Patriots answered. Natalie Cortes drilled a jumper that sparked a 12-0 run that would give UVF a 38-31 lead with 4:00 minutes left in the 3
rd. After trading baskets, Suny Canton clawed their way back. The Roos went on an 11-0 run to retake the lead 43-42. But as time was running out, Natalie Cortes rose up and found nothing but the bottom of the net from behind the 3-point line as time expired. The Patriots led 45-43 after three quarters of play.
As the 4
th quarter began, SUNY Canton's Antanasia Chambers made a layup to tie the game at 45-45. Something clicked and the Patriots came to life. The Patriots reeled off 13 unanswered points to jump out to a 58-45 lead with 5 minutes to play. UVF played relentless defense the rest of the way and never let Canton back into the game. The Patriots scored 21 points compared to the Kangaroos 7 in the 4
th quarter to cruise to a 66-50 win.
Up Next
With the semifinal win, the Patriots will face Pine Manor College for the ACAA Conference Championship on Sunday, February 25
th at 2:30 pm.
Go Patriots!