51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Contact: ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Amanda Brickell?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />

March 10, 2004

Contact: Amanda Brickell

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø women’s basketball team (21-9) defeated American (16-14) 71-60 to claim the team’s first Patriot League Championship and NCAA tournament berth in front of a record  crowd of 1,724 at Cotterell on Wednesday night.  Senior Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) led the way with 23 points and was named the tournament MVP in her school record 106^th basketball game as a Raider.

A six-point scoring run capped by a lay-in from Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) on a full court pass from Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.) at 13:08 put the Raiders up 14-6.  Sophomore Meghan Curtin (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench to drain two-straight jumpers and increase 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s lead to 20-11 at the ten minute mark. 

With just under four minutes to play in the first, the Raiders extended their lead to 34-20 on a jumper from sophomore Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.).  The Eagles responded with eight unanswered points heading into the locker room.  Joanna Barnes drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s lead to 36-31.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø came out hard in the second scoring the first four points of the half to go up 38-31.  The Raiders increased their lead to 53-41 on a three-pointer from Curtin with 13:45 to play, but the Eagles fought back within four following an eight-point scoring run.

The Eagles kept it close all the way through, but Ballard came up big sinking two free throws with 58 seconds left to give the Raiders a six-point cushion.  Chigozie Ozor (Ann Arbor, Mich.) then swiped the Eagles inbounds pass and drew the foul where she nailed both freebies to increase the lead to eight.

Burke, Lagzdins, and Leandra Fuller (Harrisburg, Pa.) each took their turn at the line to stretch the margin to 71-60.  In the final seconds, head coach Beth Combs brought the starters to the bench and sent every single Raider reserve to the floor to seal the deal and claim their spot in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

As the buzzer sounded, the crowd swarmed the court in celebration of the culmination of the team’s fairy tale season.  The Raiders accepted the trophy and took turns cutting down the net for the first time in school history.

Burke’s 23 points moved her into fifth on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s all-time scoring list with 1,435 points.  Lagzdins was named to the all-tournament team for her outstanding efforts in the tournament.  She had her seventh double-double of the season scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.  She moved into eighth on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s career rebounding list with 605.

Ozor moved into second on the school’s season steals list with 84.  She scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds just missing her second double-double in three games.

Fuller scored nine points, grabbed nine boards and blocked one shot on the night.  Braseth broke the season record for minutes in a season with 28 in the game and 1,045 on the year.  She added six points, three assists, and two steals to the effort.

Ballard scored four points and grabbed three rebounds, while Curtin came off the bench to score nine points and notch three boards.

Emily Damuth (Saginaw, Mich.), Jessica McQuoid (Toronto, Ont.), Monee Perry (Los Angeles, Calif.), Devon Warwick (Amesbury, Mass.), and Carly Brescacin (Tecumseh, Ont.) came off the bench in the final seconds to claim their spots in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø history as well.  51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s wounded soldiers Molly Patterson (Euclid, Ohio) and Victoria Briscoe (Landover, Md.) were also on hand to relish their team’s success.

The Raiders advance to the NCAA tournament and will learn who they face and at what venue this coming Sunday at 5 p.m. when they gather to watch the women’s selection show on ESPN.