ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend women's basketball team will battle No. 10 Catholic on Friday, March 1 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament held at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

The Generals (26-2) will face Vassar (25-2) in the second first round game on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The winners advance to the second round on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.

The Lions (23-4) earned an automatic bid by virtue of their 2024 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament championship. The Lions defeated No. 3 Altoona 76-69 in the semifinals and then downed No. 1 La Roche in the title game behind 29 points from Morgan Altavilla (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin).  

Catholic earned an at-large bid after falling 57-48 to No. 7 Scranton in the Landmark Conference Championship game.

The Lions stellar 2023-24 campaign has featured a nine-game winning streak from December 9 to January 27, and their current seven-game run. Behrend has won 18 of their last 20 games dating back to November 29.

This will be the Lions fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and the first since the 2003-04 season.