Crunch Time

It's getting down to crunch time in the Centennial Conference women's basketball playoff chase. Muhlenberg has secured the top seed for the CC tournament and will host the final four on Feb. 28-March 1. But a glance at the standings shows four teams tied for second place at 9-5, another a half-game off the pace at 9-6, and a sixth trailing the quintet at 8-6. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, things will begin to shake themselves out beginning tonight with a pair of contests involving four of those six squads.

Dickinson at McDaniel (Women's Basketball)
The Red Devils (9-5 CC, 12-9) and the Green Terror (9-6, 11-9) meet for the 67th time in a series that began in 1970 with McDaniel looking for a season sweep (and tie-breaker advantage) after a 65-56 win in Carlisle back on Jan. 20. The difference in that game was the Green and Gold's ability to get to the foul line and converting 21-of-26 charity tosses, opposed to Dickinson's 9-of-14. The Devils have just one win in their last 11 regular-season trips to the Gill Center (2006).

Johns Hopkins at Gettysburg (Women's Basketball)
The Blue Jays (9-5, 11-10) and the Bullets (9-5, 12-9) square off for the 53rd time in a series that dates to 1980 with Hopkins looking for the season sweep (and tie-breaker advantage). JHU defeated Gettysburg, 62-50, at Goldfarb on Jan. 13 as Lyndsay Burton had a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards. Hopkins has won five straight - its longest streak since 2005-06 - and looks to deliver win #399 at Homewood for coach Nancy Funk.