GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Tomcat women's basketball squad enters the 2012 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament as the number six seed and will travel to Waynesburg University to take on the third-seeded Yellow Jackets Tuesday in the opening round of tournament action.

Heading into the single-elimination tournament Thiel (8-17, 8-10 PAC) is being led by a pair of juniors in Kelly Barzak (Warren, OH/Howland) and Kelly Muffley (Salsburg, Pa./Western Reserve Academy).

Barzak currently ranks first in the PAC in blocked shots (72), second in field goal percentage (.537), fifth in rebounding (7.6 rebounds/game), and sixth in points per game (14.2 points/game). As of February 16 she was ranked 12th among her Division III peers in blocked shots per game (3.0) and 29th in field goal percentage. Her 72 blocks this season are a new single-season Tomcat record, surpassing Carrie Sipe's 69 during the 1991-1992 season.

Barzak, the program's leading shot blocker with 200 career blocks, is also closing in on the program's top 10 rebounding list with 455.

Muffley is averaging 13.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season, finishing the regular season seventh in the PAC in scoring average. Third among her PAC counterparts in made three-point field goals this season with 47, Muffley is currently tied for fourth place on the Tomcat career three-point field goals list (109) with Tammy Willrich '01. Her junior season has proved to be her best yet as a Tomcat, averaging a full two points and almost a rebound more per game than during her sophomore campaign.

Waynesburg (19-6, 14-4 PAC) enters the championship tournament as winners of six of its last seven games. After opening its 2011-2012 PAC schedule with a 61-49 home win over the Tomcats on Nov. 30, Waynesburg watched the Tomcats erase a 10-point halftime deficit to claim a 64-62 victory at Beeghly Gymnasium on Jan. 21.

Muffley and Ashley Davis (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) paced the comeback effort, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively, while each finished with 11 rebounds.

Hannah Hunter led Waynesburg with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Paige Pearce added 15 points and seven rebounds while Emily Miller chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Five-time defending conference champion Thomas More College rolled to a 15-1 league mark under first-year head coach Jeff Hans and will host eighth-seeded Grove City College in an opening round game of the eight-team women's tournament Tuesday. A Saints victory gives them the opportunity to host the “PAC Final Four” over the weekend in Crestview Hills, Ky.

In other first round games Tuesday second seed Saint Vincent College will host seventh-seeded Washington & Jefferson College while fourth seed Bethany College play hosts fifth-seeded Westminster College. Tournament semifinals are scheduled for 6 and 8 p.m. on Friday, followed by the championship game on Saturday at a time* TBA (between 4-7 p.m.).