Penn State Lehigh Valley’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have both advanced to the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) championship tournament for the first time in their short history as campus sports. The teams will both face Penn State Mont Alto this Wednesday, Feb. 18, with the women playing locally at Lehigh Carbon Community College’s gym in Schnecksville at 7 p.m. Admission to the game is free and open to the public. The men’s team will travel to the Mont Alto campus for a 7 p.m. game.
The women’s team, under the leadership of new Head Coach Lorie Khalil and in its second year as a campus sport, finished their conference regular season 11-3, taking the No. 3 seed. The team has established itself as a dominant competitor throughout the season resulting in wins over some of the top-ranked teams in the conference. Additionally, Emmaus High School graduate and freshman Andrea Watkins has led the conference for most of the season in points per game at 19.5. Taylor Russell is ranked third in the conference in rebounds per game with 10.4, and both Watkins and Ashley Husser are ranked in the top five in field goal percentage.
The men’s team, now in its third year with Head Coach Anthony Ross, finished their conference regular season 8-7 taking the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. Joe Wiggins is ranked third in the conference in points per game at 21.7.
The winners of Wednesday’s games will travel to Penn State Beaver for the semi-finals. The championship game will be held at the Bryce Jordan Center, University Park on Feb. 24.
For more information, contact Allison Goodin at 610-285-5067 or aag18@psu.edu.