IMMACULATA, Pa.- The No. 2 seed Immaculata University women's basketball team is set to begin the 2024 Atlantic East Conference Tournament when they host No. 3 seed Neumann University in the Atlantic East Semifinals tonight at Alumnae Hall.

The Mighty Macs enter the tournament after a 2023 season finished with an overall record of 15-10 along with a 7-3 record in Atlantic East Conference play. The Mighty Macs navigated a strong non-conference schedule that saw the team get off to a 2-7 start. Immaculata responded winning their final four games before the holiday break, on their way to going 13-3 for the remainder of the season.

"We've worked hard this season to get to this point. Despite a somewhat rough start to the season against very talented non-conference competition, our girls have continued to push through adversity and stay focused on the goal," opened Head Coach Brittany Whalen. "The progression that we have seen from each player and team from September until now has been substantial. We are thrilled to be hosting a semi-final game. It is truly an amazing atmosphere to play in Alumnae Hall and to have our fans there supporting will mean so much."
 
Season Series
 
Immaculata won both regular season meetings between the teams.
 
In their first meeting on January 13^th, Immaculata jumped out to an early lead, and led 30-10 after the fourth quarter. Neumann responded in the second quarter outscoring Immaculata 19-9 as Immaculata led 39-29 at the halftime break. Immaculata came out firing in the third quarter outscoring Neumann 18-8 and went to take the game 73-49. Tessa Liberatoscioli and Abigail Lentowski each scored 17 for the Mighty Macs.
 
In their second meeting down at Neumann on February 16^th, Immaculata led the game 64-47 after three quarters. Neumann responded in the fourth quarter cutting the Immaculata lead to 70-67 with 0;22 remaining. Reese Mullins hit a pair of free throws to put the game away for Immaculata. Reese Mullins scored 21 points, Abigail Lentowski scored 19, and Tessa Liberatoscioli scored 13 points.
 
Mighty Macs Talk 
 
The Mighty Macs have been led this season by their starting five. On the offensive side Abigail Lentowski has led the team scoring 381 points (15.2 ppg), and a team leading 202 rebounds. Tessa Liberatoscioli has led on both sides of the ball scoring 265 points (10.6 ppg) with 174 rebounds, 92 assists, 35 blocked shots, and an IU program and Atlantic East Conference record 101 steals. Reese Mullins scored 248 points (11.3 ppg), Morgan Falcone 248 points (9.9 ppg), and Abigail Boyer 169 points (6.8 ppg).
 
"After days of prepping, we are excited to finally get out on the court again and play Neumann," stated Reese Mullins. "The team is locked in, and we hope to finish what we started months ago."
 
Immaculata has gotten strong contributions from multiple players off their bench including Olivia Ettorre, and Mary deSimone.
 
"Neumann is a very good team with a heavily experienced coaching staff. Last game was down to the wire with them," continued Whalen. "They do a nice job utilizing their go-to scorers with strong off-ball screens which is something we struggled with during our last game. We will have to adjust our defense heading into this game and just be smart on offense with our shot selection.

Scouting Neumann
 
Neumann enters tonight's semifinal after defeating Marywood 84-47 at home on Monday night in their Quarterfinal match-up.
 
Lauren Klieber led Neumann scoring 498 points (19.2 ppg) and added a team leading 209 rebounds. Emily DuPont scored 337 points (13 ppg) and had 152 rebounds. Terea Toruk scored 211 points (8.1 ppg) and is a presence on both ends of the court for Neumann.
 
Final Thoughts
 
"We have been saying all week that the playoffs are the start to a new season. 0-0, anyone has a chance at this point, but we need to focus on the short-term goals and do the little things," concluded Whalen. "The remaining teams have all had strong seasons and it will be tough competition through the remainder of the tournament, but my hope is that we continue to stay grounded and present in the moment. Either way, we will be prepared."
 
Up Next:
 
The winner of tonight's semifinal will meet the winner of the No. 4 Centenary at No. 1 Marymount semifinal at Marymount on Saturday, February 24^th in the Atlantic East Conference Championship Game.