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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2024 PSUAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will take place on Saturday, March 2nd at the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus of Penn State University. Two titles will be on the line as Penn State Beaver battles Penn State Lehigh Valley in the women's championship and Penn State Greater Allegheny looks to defend their title against Penn State York in the men's title tilt.
Each game will be live streamed on the PSU Campus Athletics Network at the "Watch Live" link above. Live stats are also available on the PSUAC website by going to the respective sports Schedule/Results page and clicking the "Live Stats" link next to the game.
The winners will each earn an automatic bid to the USCAA Basketball National Championship tournament scheduled for March 9-14 in Richmond, Va. Check out our previews of each game below.
PSUAC Women's Basketball Championship
East #1 Penn State Lehigh Valley (23-3, 17-2 PSUAC) vs. West #1 Penn State Beaver (22-6, 19-0 PSUAC)
4:30 p.m.
A rematch of a semifinal game in 2023, Penn State Beaver looks to keep its undefeated conference record and bring the Nittany Lion championship statue back to campus after a one year hiatus. Beaver has won two of the last three contested PSUAC women's basketball championships (no championship was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), winning in both 2020 and 2022. They'll be faced with an equally impressive team, Penn State Lehigh Valley, who knocked off Beaver last year in the semis before falling in the championship game. Lehigh Valley hopes to regain its title form and win its second title overall and first since 2019.
Unlike last year's title game that featured different styles of basketball, the 2024 edition of the PSUAC Women's Basketball Championship will feature two defenses that thrive off of creating pressure with their speed, strength and effort. Lehigh Valley led the league in turnovers forced with more than 28 per game; Beaver was just behind them forcing 27 per contest. Beaver finished second overall in points allowed per game (58.4) while Lehigh Valley was fourth (59.6) in the PSUAC. Lehigh Valley also finished second in the conference in opponents field goal percentage, allowing opposing teams to shoot just 31.8 percent from the field. Lehigh Valley was also third in rebounding margin.
The defensive end feeds both teams fast pace, but Beaver also led the league in field goal and three point shooting percentage. Both teams can put up points as they finished 1-2 in the PSUAC in points per game.
Speaking of defense, both teams will be led by Defensive Players of the Year--Nia Newman from Lehigh Valley and Emery Black from Beaver. Hillary Offing, the East's Player and Rookie of the Year, joins Newman in the Lehigh Valley lineup while First Team selection Makitah Logan excels for Beaver with nearly 13 points a game. Lehigh Valley's Samantha Columna (East Second Team) and Gianna Torretta (Honorable Mention) were also selected to PSUAC All-Conference teams while Black and Logan are joined in postseason accolades by Daniela Guzman (Honorable Mention).
Beaver's path to the championship included a dominant 80-45 win over Penn State DuBois before clashing with Penn State York in the semifinals where they fended off a scrappy York team 65-57. Lehigh Valley had narrow leads at halftime of each of their playoff games, beating Schuylkill 91-55 after leading by just four at the break. They followed that up with an impressive 83-62 win over Penn State Shenango in the semifinals.
In their lone match-up of the season, which occurred all the way back on November 18, Beaver picked up the win on its home floor, 89-78.
PSUAC Men's Basketball Championship
West #2 Penn State Greater Allegheny (22-8, 16-3 PSUAC) vs. East #1 Penn State York (26-6, 14-5 PSUAC)
7:15 p.m.
The closing act on Saturday will feature the defending champions from Penn State Greater Allegheny against a resurgent Penn State York squad, who picked up the top seed in the East after winning 9 of its final 10 regular season conference games. Greater Allegheny looked to be sailing along smoothly, starting the conference season 12-0 before hitting a skid in early February and dropping three straight. After righting the ship, Greater Allegheny has now won six straight heading into their title defense.
Greater Allegheny advanced to the Bryce Jordan Center on the strengths of a close 82-78 win over Penn State New Kensington in the quarterfinals before toppling a red-hot Penn State Lehigh Valley squad in the semifinals, winning 93-69. York was also tested on its path to the final, beating Penn State Schuylkill 66-54 before dispatching Penn State DuBois in the semifinals, 77-69.
York's defense, tops in the PSUAC, will look to slow down the league's leading offense. Greater Allegheny averaged 88 points per game while York gave up just 66. A more deliberate pace may benefit the Eastern squad, but York's league leading 32.6 percent from three-point range may also be a factor in keeping pace with Greater Allegheny's scoring ability.
York will be led by First Team All-Conference selections Marquise McClean and Deriq Brown. Brown, who was also named the East Division Player of the Year, averaged 16 points per game and finished second in three pointers. Greater Allegheny has a solid returning core, including First Team selection Chris Killings and West Player of the Year and First Team member Bryce Phillips. Phillips averaged a double-double on the season, scoring nearly 20 points per game and grabbing nearly 11 boards. They're joined by Second Team selection Jeremiah Miller and Honorable Mention team member Devin Green.
Greater Allegheny was victorious in the only meeting of the year between the teams, winning 94-83 on their home court on November 18, 2023.
These two teams have combined to win seven of the last 10 PSUAC titles, with York winning in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2022 while Greater Allegheny won in 2017 and 2023.
