LANGHORNE, PA - In the NCCAA II Regional Semi-Finals Tuesday night, PBU blew past Davis College to secure a spot in the Regional Championship.
On a day when all but one Crimson Eagles found the scoring column, PBU built up a 45-11 halftime lead en route to their 57 point victory - their biggest win since last season's 87-7 trouncing of Washington Bible College in late November.
Up just 8-5 to begin the game after consecutive buckets by the Falcons, PBU spouted off a 14-0 run in a four minute span to secure a 22-5 advantaged with 11:53 left in the opening period. One of Amy Mercincavage's three triples on the night temporarily slowed PBU, but another devastating run (this time in the form of 21 to 3) to close out the period gave the hosts a 34 point lead during the intermission.
The Crimson Eagles would begin the second period with 11 straight points from Lindsey Fornwalt and Dani Norton, and would eventually see their advantage balloon to 50 with 13:12 left to play. Four three pointers over the span of 3:45 would see Davis pull the score to 66-23, but over the final eight minutes the Crimson Eagles would hold the falcons to six points to help advance PBU into the Regional Championship.
PBU held advantages in nearly every statistical category, with the discrepancy in turnovers (30 to eight) and points off turnovers (46 to three) potentially boding the most significant. The Crimson Eagles also tied a season high with 24 offensive rebounds, leading to 23 second chance points.
Dani Norton torched the nets and led all scorers with a career high 35 points by connecting on an incredible 14 of 17 shots from the field including a seven for nine from behind the three point line. Lindsey Fornwalt chipped in 14 points on six of eight shooting to go with four steals, and sophomore point guard Sarah Oessenich topped the double digit assist mark for the second consecutive game by finishing with 11 dimes in just 20 minutes of action. Freshman center Caitlin Hess pulled down a game high 13 boards including nine on the offensive end.
The Crimson Eagles will play in the Regional Championship Game on Thursday night against Valley Forge Christian College. The Patriots were an 81-75 winner over Lancaster Bible. PBU will host Valley Forge in the Mason Activity Center at 7:00 pm.
