LEXINGTON, Va. — After a historic season that saw the Catholic University women's basketball team compile a 25-2 record, the Cardinals will head to Washington & Lee for its NCAA Tournament First Round match-up.

The Cardinals were the final at-large team announced during Monday afternoon's NCAA Tournament Selection Show but their body of work saw them comfortably into the field. When their name was finally called, they learned that they would be heading south to Lexington, Va., for a first-round match-up with Penn St.-Behrend.

The Lions will prove to be a formidable challenge for the Cardinals after posting a 19-7 overall record and a 15-2 mark in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) play. Behrend defeated La Roche in the AMCC Championship to earn an automatic bid to the field of 64.

The Body of Work

The Cardinals boast an impressive resume this campaign, entering the NCAA Tournament having lost to just one opponent all season. Catholic split with No. 6 Scranton during the regular season before falling to the Royals in the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday. Catholic currently sits at No. 11 in the D3hoops.com national poll and ranks second in the region behind Scranton.

Including the home win over Scranton, Catholic boasts six wins over regionally-ranked opponents. The Cardinals have knocked off Marymount (Va.), Randolph-Macon, Shenandoah and Elizabethtown (twice).

Penn St.-Behrend took some losses in the non-conference part of the season but, during conference play, the Lions' resume resembled that of Catholic. Behrend's only two conference losses came to La Roche but Lions got revenge in the most satisfying way possible, knocking off the Red Hawks comfortably in the AMCC Championship. It was doubly sweet for the Lions after they fell to Red Hawks by a single point last season's championship game.

High Powered Offenses

This match-up has the potential to be a high-scoring affair as both teams average over 75 points per game. 

As a team, Catholic led the Landmark Conference in scoring, averaging 75.1 points per game and was the only squad to score over 2,000 points this season. The Cardinals were second in conference in field goal percentage (42.4%) while finishing top of the pile in three-point field goals made per game (7.4).

Catholic has three players that average over 10 points per game while all five starters contribute nine or more. Leading scorer and first-team all-conference selection Keegan Douglas has nearly doubled her offensive output from last season as her 14.0 points per game is fourth-best across the Landmark.

Carly Mulvaney (10.7 PPG) and Kerry Flaherty (9.4 PPG) force opposing defenses to guard the three-point line but are also more-than-capable of putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim. All-conference second-teamer Sarah White (9.0 PPG) is a pass-first point guard who is always looking to create shots for her teammates. Her 3.1 assists per game ranks in the top five in the conference while she also possesses the ability to get hot from deep at any time.

Landmark Conference Player of the Year Anna Scoblick ranks near the top of every statistical category for the Cardinals. She is second on the team in points per game (12.5), first among qualified players in field goal percentage (52.4%), first in offensive rebounds (74), second in assists (68) and registered six double-doubles on the season. Scoblick's ability to handle the ball paired with her post presence creates massive potential match-up problems for the opposition.

As for Penn St.-Behrend, the Lions possess far-and-away the best one-two punch in the AMCC. Morgan Altavilla (18.6 PPG) and Rachel Majewski (18.5 PGG) are both top-five scorers in the conference and average over a staggering 18.5 points per game. Both have started every contest this season for the Lions whereas their third double-digit scorer Madilyn Boyer (11.5 PPG) has operated both from a starting role and off of the bench at different times throughout the season.

Altavilla shoots over 50 percent from the floor (50.1%) and over 40 percent from beyond the arc (40.6%), both also ranking in the top five in the conference. On top of that, she is one of the leading assist women in the AMCC, averaging 4.0 helpers per contest and nearly two assists per each turnover she commits.

The Majewski and Atavilla duo are a real force to be reckoned with as both were named to the All-AMCC First Team on Tuesday. Majewski was the preseason player of the year in the conference and scored her 1,000th-career point just after the turn off the year while Atavilla will be looking to channel a similar performance as the AMCC title game when she dropped 29 points.

Defensive Prowess

The Cardinals pride themselves on their defense, having held their opponent to 60 or fewer points in 21 of 27 contests this season. Catholic's opponents average 54.5 points per game and 32.7 percent from the field, both second-best in the Landmark Conference behind Scranton. The Cardinal boast the best perimeter defense in the conference, holding opponents to 24.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Needless to say, Scoblick is a key defender for Catholic as she leads the team in rebounds per game (7.3) and blocks (37) while sitting third on the team in steals (36). White leads the team with 84 steals which is the fourth-most by any Catholic player in a single season in program history. The senior sits one behind third place and six behind second.

Behrend's Alexis Furyes leads the team and is second in the conference in blocks (50) and will likely have at least partial defensive responsibility for Scoblick. The Lions are active on defense and aren't afraid to gamble for deflections and turnovers as three players rank in the top 15 in the conference in steals in Altavila (5th, 52), Majewski (10th, 47) and Furyes (T14th, 40).

Coaching Match-Up

Headman Matt Donohue has helped the Cardinals to their best season in over a decade. Donohue, Casey Filiault, Luca Mamula and Kathryn Greenhut have been tabbed Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year for their superb efforts in guiding Catholic to its best-ever conference mark of 17-1.

The Cardinals produced a program-record 20-game winning streak to start the year that culminated in Catholic's sixth NCAA Tournament Appearance under Donohue. He won his 400th career game early this season.

In her ninth season in charge of the Penn-St. Behrend program, two-time conference Coach of the Year Christine VanHook will look to elevate the Lions from AMCC success to success on the national stage. VanHook has led her squad to postseason play four times in a row, winning at least 17 games in each of those campaigns. Her efforts this season have led to Behrend's first NCAA Tournament appearance in two decades.

Looking Beyond

Catholic and Penn St.-Behrend will meet in the first game of the pod at 5 p.m. on Friday evening. Hosts No. 19 Washington & Lee (26-2) will meet Vassar (25-2) in the other first-round game at 7:30 p.m. The winners will do battle on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for the right to advance to the second weekend and final 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cardinals are in pursuit of their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012-13. They are also chasing that team that currently holds the single-season wins record with 27. If Catholic can advance through this pod with two wins this weekend, it will tie that standing record.