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Both teams are looking to stay alive in the Commonwealth playoff race as Reading rivals Albright and Alvernia face off in the Alvernia Physical Education Center.

Commonwealth Playoff Picture

With five teams making the league championships this season, Lycoming (5-7) currently holds the fifth spot. Alvernia, Albright and Stevenson are all one game back at 4-8 in the conference. With games still remaining against all three of those squads, including tonight's crucial battle, Albright is still very much alive.

Messiah (11-1), Lebanon Valley (10-2) and Widener (10-2) are running away with the top three spots, while Elizabethtown (7-5) is in good position to host the 4 vs. 5 play-in game after knocking off nationally-ranked Messiah last week.

Previous Meeting

In one of the most thrilling games in recent memory, the Lions finished the contest on a 20-2 run to grab a 62-60 victory over their biggest rival and shock Alvernia on December 1 in the Bollman Center.

Freshman Kelecia Harris had a big double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds). Sophomore Amanda Tiritilli made three treys and finished with 11 points, and classmate Tara Sabotchick had 10 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting to go with six assists.

Down 58-42 with 6:25 to play, Tiritilli started things up with a three-pointer, and Sabotchick followed with a jumper on the next possession. Harris' layup cut the deficit to single-digits, with more than five minutes still left to play. Harris' put-back soon made it 58-51, and she followed an Alvernia miss with her sixth consecutive point to make it a five-point game and force a reeling Crusaders squad to call timeout. The Lions found themselves inbounding the ball with 21 seconds left and the shot clock turned off. Harris cut right to the hoop and finished off the lay-in for the winning points.

The Lions' run all came on the back of the same unit, as senior Kari Ludy, sophomores Tiritilli and Sabotchick, and freshmen Harris and Kadijah Bishop meshed perfectly down the stretch to pull back a game that appeared lost.

Albright College Lions (8-11, 4-8 Commonwealth)

The Lions continue to keep themselves in games with sharp shooting, and currently rank 23rd in the nation in field goal percentage (42.9). They are also 39th in three-point shooting (33.9), led by Sabotchick (17-of-37, 45.9%).

Harris ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage (59.5%), and leads the Commonwealth in blocked shots (2.1 bpg). She earned her first Commonwealth Player of the Week honor last week, after totaling 21 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks and six steals in a win over Arcadia.

Alvernia University Crusaders (7-12, 4-8  Commonwealth)

The Crusaders have lost four of five, including defeats to Stevenson and Lycoming that put them at 1-1 in head-to-head with those close playoff rivals. Alvernia desperately needs a victory tonight to also pull to 1-1 vs. the Lions this season.

Freshman guard Stevie Fortna has been a game-changer for the Crusaders, averaging 11.3 points and adding a team-best 44 steals. Fortna (36-for-116) and Chelsea Ebersole (68-for-193) are both threats to shoot from three-point range, with Ebersole making 6-of-12 three-pointers last time vs. Albright.

MAC 100 All-Century Teams

Voting is now open for the MAC 100 All-Century winter teams, as the conference celebrates its centennial this year. Squads are being chosen for each era in conference history and an impressive list of Lion legends have been nominated. Albright women's basketball nominees include four-time first team All-Conference selections Beckie Yoder and Alison Koch, and Academic All-American Jarra Rusnock. Vote online now at http://www.mascac.org/sports/2012/5/29/MAC100CenturyTeamsVotingPortal.aspx?id=4799