Photo By Abigail MacMillan, Editor-in-Chief
By Logan Moyer, Sports Editor
For the first time in nine years, the women’s basketball team is headed to the Landmark Conference playoffs.
With their convincing 79-50 win over Lycoming on Wednesday night at O.W. Houts Gymnasium, the River Hawks locked up their first postseason berth since the 2014-15 season.
“I’m super excited for the girls,” said SU coach Gabby Holko. “This has been a long time coming for our program.”
It’s fitting that Kaitlyn Lynch, one of only two upperclassmen playing significant minutes for the River Hawks (15-7 overall, 10-5 Landmark), led the team in scoring. The fifth year, graduate student guard scored 16 points in the victory.
“It’s really nice,” Lynch said of the playoff berth. “Honestly, it’s a nice way to go out. We had a lot of expectations, and we’re slowly meeting them. It’s really nice to come together and see all of our hard work show on the floor.”
Lynch was part of Holko’s first recruiting class when she took over before the 2019-20 season. Both have seen the program which won just six games the year before their arrival grow into what it is today. Lynch’s off and on-the-court abilities have been evident with that growth.
“I think she’s somebody that was hunting shots, and she’s been shooting the ball extremely well behind the arc,” Holko said of Lynch. “She’s working her butt off, I’m super proud.”
After a slow start to the season, Lynch is averaging 17.6 points in the last three games. As the River Hawks have won seven out of their last nine games, it seems that the team plays better when Lynch is at her best.
“I just feel like my confidence has come on,” Lynch said. “I started (the season) a little low, but I think I’m finally getting my confidence back.”
Lynch, or any shooter, won’t have trouble getting open looks in SU’s offense. The River Hawks tallied 23 assists on Wednesday night, led by Julia Pinckert’s 9.
“It’s like having a weight lifted off your shoulders,” Lynch said. “If you’re not having a good day, you know somebody else on your team is going to get the ball to somebody who is. (Pinckert) reads everything really well, and she knows where the good pass is.”
Lynch was one of three River Hawks that posted a double-digit scoring tally. Julia Roth scored 13, while Kenzie Selvaggi added 10. Roth also contributed 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals to the effort.
The Warriors (11-11, 5-10) hung with the River Hawks for most of the first half, but a 20-6 run over the back half of the first half and the start of the second half helped them pull away.
“In the first quarter, we weren’t super excited with how we were defending,” Holko said. “Then we held them to 35 from the second (quarter) through fourth, so that’s super exciting for us.”
Meghan Dufner scored a game-high 18 points for the Warriors while Mya Wetzel added 12. Lycoming shot just 30% from the field as a team.
In the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade, the River Hawks now have the opportunity to secure the right to play the quarterfinals in Selinsgrove. They need to win two out of their final three matchups to do so.
“We don’t like to look ahead in this program a ton,” Holko said. “Tomorrow, obviously back at it in practice, but when Scranton comes to town (on Saturday), we’re going to give them (our) best game.”