Women's Basketball Knocks Off No. 17 Dowling College, 59-50
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2013) – The LIU Post women's basketball team snapped No. 17 Dowling College's 10 game win streak, handing the Golden Lions their first East Coast Conference loss of the season by a score of 59-50 Wednesday evening in the Pratt Recreation Center.
LIU Post improves to 13-5 overall including 6-4 in ECC action, while Dowling slips to 15-3 and 9-1 in conference play.
This marks the first win by the Pioneers over Dowling since Jan. 20, 2010 when LIU Post gritted out a 94-89 double overtime victory in Dowling's gym. Earlier that same season on Dec. 9, 2009 was the last time the Pioneers defeated Dowling in the Pratt Recreation Center, securing an 83-76 win.
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Nicolette Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) jumper in the paint opened up the scoring in a half which saw six tie scores and eight lead changes. Dowling held its largest lead halfway through the first when Kristen McMahon hit a free throw to put her squad up 11-6. The Pioneers then closed out the half with a 20-9 run to hold a six point advantage at the intermission. During the run, senior
Samantha Kopp (Franklinville, N.Y.) racked up nine of the Pioneers points, while junior
Jalicia Connell (Westbury, N.Y.) added five. The scoreboard read 26-20 in favor of the Pioneers at half. Kopp's nine points led the Pioneers offense in the half, while Marciniak chipped in six points and five rebounds.
Dowling opened up the second half with five quick points to cut the Pioneers' lead to one, but
Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) grabbed a steal and passed the ball up-court to
Shayna Gatling (Baldwin, N.Y.) who converted the layup to extend the LIU Post lead. The Golden Lions battled back to tie the game at 31-all after five minutes had passed in the second, and then went on to grab their biggest lead of the night at 40-31 after scoring 13 unanswered points.
Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) drained a huge trey and a layup to ignite the Pioneers' offense.
Kenyatta Sears (Hampton, Va.) followed with another big three-pointer, bringing the Pioneers within one of Dowling (40-39). A minute later, the Pioneers retook the lead after Sears sunk two crucial free-throws and Kopp drained one from downtown. Dowling's Nicole Caggiano hit a jumper to beat the shot clock tying the game at 44-44. On the Pioneers' next trip up the court, Sears once again sunk a trey to break the tie and started off the Pioneers'15-6 run to close out the game and secure the 59-50 victory. Sears led the Pioneers to the comeback win with 10 points in the second half on 2-2 shooting from downtown and 4-4 from the charity stripe.
Kopp finished the night with 16 points, and Sears chipped in 12 on the night. Kopp, Sears, and Marciniak all pulled in eight rebounds for the Pioneers. Sears also led the Pioneers with five assists, and Marciniak grabbed a game-high three steals.
Despite fouling out of the game, Dowling's Connie Simmons led her team with 14 points, six assists, and six rebounds.
The Pioneers look to continue their strong ECC play on Saturday, Feb. 2, as they host Molloy College for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off in the Pratt Recreation Center.