GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – What. A. Game. 
 
The Cabrini University women's basketball team won a thriller Wednesday night as the Cavaliers took down No. 2-seeded Gwynedd Mercy 72-68 on the road at The Griffin Complex. 
 
Gwynedd Mercy University is only about 20 miles from the Cabrini campus. Thanks to the proximity of the campuses, many of the Cavaliers faithful were able to make the trek to The Griffin Complex. They were not disappointed as the game was worth the price of admission alone. 
 
The fourth quarter may have taken years off the lives of some in attendance. The Cavs (14-13) entered the fourth leading 49-48 and just 18 seconds into the quarter, a layup from Abby Paolini extended the lead to 51-48 and kicked off an 8-0 run capped off by a trey from Ava Possenti as the freshman scored five of the eight points. The Griffins responded immediately as Haley Crossley knocked down a triple and despite Gwynedd scoring on back-to-back possessions, the Cavs scored on their next two as well, taking an eight-point lead with 5:31 remaining. Then, over the next four minutes, the Griffins went on an 11-2 run and took a 66-65 lead with 1:25 left in regulation. With time winding down and the Cavs up by one again after two Giana Rullo free throws, Miranda Liebtag hit the dagger as the senior knocked down a step-back jumper just inside the three-point line to put Cabrini ahead by three with less than thirty seconds left. The defense prevented a game-tying 3-pointer and once the final horn blew, the bench and the well-traveled Cabrini fans went into a frenzy. 
 
Cabrini held control for much of the contest from the opening tip as Katie Rodriguez knocked down a jumper to get the Cavs on the board first. They quickly took a 7-4 lead, but the Griffins responded five points to take a 9-7 edge. Cabrini and Gwynedd continued to battle back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter as the first ended with the two squads knotted at 18 apiece. The Cavs opened the second stanza on a 10-0 run to go ahead 28-18 with 6:20 until the break. Despite five straight points from Gwynedd to end the half, the Cavs held a 34-30 lead going into the break. 
 
In the third, Gwynedd's Elise Sylvester knotted the game at 38-38 with a 3-pointer at the 5:29 mark, but the Cavs countered right away as Paolini knocked down a trey to give Cabrini a three-point lead. The Cavs lead grew to five but a four-point play from Sylvester with two minutes left led to a three-point Gwynedd advantage with two minutes remaining. Possenti and Rodriguez put Cabrini back in the driver's seat as they combined for six points to end the quarter and put the Cavs up 49-48, setting up the fourth quarter fireworks. 
 
Liebtag and Rullo led all Cabrini scorers on the night as the duo put up 17 points each with Liebtag going 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and Rullo finishing 6-for-15 from the field. Paolini finished with 12 while Possenti tallied a career-high 10 points in the win. 
 
The Cavaliers are now set to square off against the No. 1-seeded Marymount Saints in the Atlantic East Conference women's basketball championship game on Saturday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.