THE MATCHUP
Elizabethtown (18-6 overall) finished in a tie for second with Catholic at 11-5 in the standings after the coaches selected the Blue Jays fourth in the preseason poll. It marks the fourth straight year that E-town has advanced to the postseason. The Jays are looking for their first tournament championship since winning the Commonwealth Conference crown in 2000-01 as they enter the Landmark semifinals the No. 3 seed.

Catholic has been a perennial favorite in the Landmark as the Cardinals have not been outside the top two in the standings since the 2010-11 season. Catholic finished the regular season 17-8 and was the only team to beat nationally-ranked Scranton during the season. The win over the Royals gave CUA the tiebreaker over the Jays for the No. 2 seed.

REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
Catholic 71, Elizabethtown 56 - 1/6/15 - Washington, D.C.
Elizabethtown 63, Catholic 58 - 2/4/15 - Elizabethtown, Pa.

Elizabethtown struggled in the first matchup, hitting only two of 14 three-point attempts and making just two of seven foul shots. It also marked the only game of the season in which no player reached double figures for the Jays. Emily Martin and Taylor Alwine each had eight.

"They like to play an aggressive 2-3 zone and that created some problems for us," co-head coach Sherri Gorman said. "They really flock to the ball, so there is extreme pressure on the ball, but we were better prepared to attack the second time round."

E-town had its opportunities, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds, but could only register five second-chance points. Catholic forced 18 turnovers and turned those into 20 points. The Cardinals had 32 points in the paint, in large part to Josephine Migash (15 points). Michelle DeSantis had the hot-hand, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting (3-for-4 3P).

In the second meeting in early February, the Blue Jays, at that point, were on the outside looking in as far as the playoff picture went. Sitting in fifth place and coming off a forgettable loss at Scranton, the Blue Jays were focused and well aware the rest of the season could very well depend upon the outcome of that game. The team's both shot 20-for-58 (34.5%) from the floor, but it was E-town this time around that utilized the three-point line to its advantage. The Jays hit 10-of-16 from beyond the arc, including 7-for-10 from Rachel Forjan, who went off for 25 points.

Another deciding factor was Elizabethtown's ability to limit Catholic in the paint. After surrendering 32 points in the paint in the first game, the Cardinals only netted 14 from the painted area. E-town finished with 24 down low.

KEYS TO THE GAME
"We will need to control the boards, look for our transition and play great defense, stopping their dribble penetration and getting over screens will be important," noted Gorman. "We need to take care of the things we can control; our effort, spacing, timing, and decision making. We need to be the aggressor and leave everything on the court, and in the end, understand we have our destiny in our own hands."

ALL-TIME SERIES
Prior to this season, the two squads had only met once, with Elizabethtown being the victor. They split the regular season series this year, meaning the Jays still hold a one-game advantage all-time, 2-1. It is the first-ever playoff matchup between the schools.

ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS
•    Advanced to the playoffs for the fourth straight year (first in the Landmark Conference).
•    Have won at least 15 games in the three seasons Sherri Gorman has been head coach. This is the first year of co-head coach responsibilities with Veronica Nolt.
•    Emily Martin recorded a single-game conference record 25 rebounds on Feb. 18 versus Drew.
•    Won the Terry Greene Memorial Tournament at F&M for the second straight season.
•    Rank first in the Landmark Conference with 11.7 steals per game. Second in points per game allowed (54.1).
•    Started the season 8-0 for the second year in a row and won both games in Puerto Rico in mid-December.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
•    Have been crowned Landmark Conference champions twice. The titles came back-to-back in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
•    Were the only team to beat Scranton this season, winning at home 46-42 on Jan. 17.
•    One of the conference's leading foul-shooting teams with 14.2 made per game on 21.0 attempts per game. Guard Michelle DeSantis was sixth in the league at 82.4 percent.
•    DeSantis is the conference's fifth-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game. She is second in the Landmark in field goal percentage, hitting 52.1 percent of her shots. DeSantis is the top three-point shooter at 47.7 percent.
•    Had a seven-game win streak halted by Juniata on Jan. 21. The Cardinals started that streak on Dec. 29 against Washington & Lee.
•    Hosted and won the inaugural Jamie Lynn Roberts Tournament, beating Mary Washington 53-48 in the final. Migash and Melissa Errico were named to the all-tournament team with Migash earning the MVP honor.

NEXT UP
The winner advances to Saturday's Landmark Conference Championship game to face either defending champion and nationally-ranked Scranton or Susquehanna. Scranton is the top seed in the Landmark with the Crusaders the No. 4 seed.