BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 71-63 victory over Cumberland County College, the defending Region XIX champions, on Tuesday evening at the Arthur L. Scott Center. 

The Spartans grabbed the lead for good in the second quarter and never looked back, building their advantage to 9 points with 3:08 remaining and holding on down the stretch for the Region XIX crossover victory. 

"I'm really proud of the girls tonight," commented Head Coach Tara Belfield, "we stayed positive throughout and made some big plays when we needed it ... this was an important win for us in regard to seeding for the upcoming regional tournament.  In addition, to get a quality win like this on sophomore night makes it even more special.  Amber (Farnholtz), Julia (Craig), Asia (Morton) and Zeniyah (Sanders) have each played such a big role in our success the last two years, it is great to win this way tonight for them."

Craig led Northampton with 17 points, while Sanders added 12 points and 7 rebounds.  Deana McKeller (East Stroudsburg, PA /East Stroudsburg South ) had a team-high 9 rebounds and added 6 points for the Spartans. 

Sahara Lopez had a game-high 34 points for Cumberland.

The win moves Northampton to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in Region XIX.

Cumberland falls to 16-8 overall and 11-5 in Region XIX. 

The Spartans will now wait for the seeding of the regional tournament to find out their next opponent.  The most likely case scenario has Northampton hosting a playoff game on Saturday February 20th.