Women's Basketball Handles Daemen, 75-56
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Dec. 13, 2013) - The LIU Post women's basketball team got back on the winning track with a 75-56 rout of Daemen in an East Coast Conference tilt Friday at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 4-3 overall, including a 2-1 mark in ECC contests. The Wildcats fell to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The two teams played a tightly-contested first half until the Pioneers went on a 13-2 run to take a 28-17 lead with 5:40 to go in the opening stanza. During the run that spanned 3:36 of play, junior guard
Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) led the green and gold with seven points. The Wildcats made a comeback to get within four at 33-29 after Leah McDonell hit a pair of free throws, but a lay-up from senior forward
Shayna Gatling (Baldwin, N.Y.) with 18 seconds remaining gave the Pioneers a 40-33 halftime advantage.
The second half was all Pioneers. After Daemen opened the scoring to make it 40-35 in favor of the hosts, LIU Post went on an incredible 27-5 run to extend its cushion to 69-39. That spurt was capped by a fast break lay-up by senior center
Nijah LaCourt (Bronx, N.Y.) with 9:32 left on the clock. During the run, the green and gold shared the wealth, as seven different Pioneers scored. Senior guard
Kiki Sears (Hampton, Va.) led the way with six points, while Williams added five and LaCourt and senior guard
Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) each contributed four.
Daemen never got closer than within 17 after Natalie Galus hit a three-pointer with 1:28 left in regulation, as the Pioneers came away with the 75-56 win.
Williams led all players with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 2-of-5 clip from three-point land. She also shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the stripe. Williams has now scored in double figures in six of the team's first seven games.
Gatling finished with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, and hauled in seven boards. Sears added 12 points to also notch double digits in points in six out of the squad's first seven games. LaCourt pitched in six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Head Coach
Deirdre Moore and the Pioneers return to action Sunday (Dec. 15), when they host Roberts Wesleyan in an ECC battle at the Pratt Recreation Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.