2014 Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Championship
LANCASTER, Pa. – The season begins anew as Gettysburg College heads to Muhlenberg College for the opening round of the Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.
Gettysburg (15-9, 10-8 CC) heads into the postseason wearing the mantle of defending conference champion, but it's a title the Bullets will take lightly. After dropping three of the last four games of the season, the team knows it will have to play at a much higher level to retain the trophy.
"There may have been pressure early in the year but I don't think there is any now," said Head Coach
Mike Kirkpatrick, who is 362-261 in 25 years at Gettysburg. "People have shown they can beat us. We've shown we can be good one day and then not good the next day. If our good team shows up it could be awesome for us and we could make a good run."
The Bullets grabbed the fifth and final berth in the conference playoffs and will travel to fourth seed Muhlenberg (16-9, 12-6 CC) for the tournament's first round. The Mules won their final three conference games by double-figures to close the season.
Gettysburg and Muhlenberg have combined to win five of the last six conference titles. The Mules beat the Bullets in the conference playoffs on the way to titles in 2008 and 2011. The teams have split their regular-season series in each of the last five seasons. This winter, Muhlenberg earned a 62-57 victory inside Memorial Hall on Jan. 11, while Gettysburg won the rematch 63-50 in Bream Gym on Feb. 8.
"I think we have to come with lots of energy and we have to be prepared for their energy," said Kirkpatrick. "Muhlenberg always has good energy especially when they're playing at their place. They have very good size so we'll have to hit the boards really hard. If we can play our tempo and control the backboards I think we have a good shot."
The winner of Wednesday's affair will take on top seed and host Haverford College (21-3, 15-3 CC) in the conference semifinals on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. Friday's second semifinal will feature McDaniel College (19-5, 14-4 CC) and Johns Hopkins University (17-7, 14-4 CC) at 8 p.m. The championship game is set for Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth 13-18. Children under 12 and students from participating schools are admitted free with their ID. Live video and live stats will be provided by the host institution.
