NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (Nov. 29, 2014) - Trailing by a point with just seconds remaining, red-shirt freshman forward Jasmine Bailey (Washington, D.C.) beat the buzzer with a lay-up that gave the LIU Post women's basketball team a 66-65 win over Merrimack on Saturday in North Andover.
 
The Pioneers (3-1) have now won three straight after a season-opening loss to Adelphi. Meanwhile, the Warriors fell to 3-3 on the season.
 
Throughout most of the contest, the Pioneers found themselves fighting an uphill battle against the Warriors, despite jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. After senior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) hit a jumper with just over 15 minutes to go in the first half, Merrimack rattled off 16 straight points to take an 18-7 advantage with just over seven minutes to go in the half.
 
Later, Williams would hit two free throws just before the half ended, and the Pioneers went into the break trailing 35-22. Williams and Castle led the way for LIU Post in the first half. Both guards scored six-points apiece. Junior center Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.) brought down seven first-half rebounds. For Merrimack, Chloe Rothman paced the scoring with a team-best 13 first-half points.
 
In the second half, the Pioneers came out shooting as they tried to chip away at the deficit. Merrimack would extend their lead to 14 (50-36) after Allison Wagner hit a three with 13:16 to go in regulation, but LIU Post would respond in a big way.
 
The Pioneers answered with a 22-5 run to take a 58-55 lead with just over six minutes left in the second half. Bailey led the way during the spurt, scoring seven points. Junior guard Khea Gibbs (Norwalk, Conn.) added five, while Williams netted four and senior guard Ashley Castle (Brooklyn, N.Y.)  and junior guard Quanisha Ratley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each added three.
 
The teams traded leads until Rothman gave Merrimack a one-point lead (65-64) with just eight seconds left. Then, with time winding down, senior guard Castle missed a layup, but Bailey was there to gather the offensive board and sink the buzzer beater, lifting the Pioneers to the 66-65 win.
 
Castle led the Pioneers with 17 points, going 4-of-7 from three-point territory. Williams added 16, while Bailey contributed nine points. Davis collected 10 rebounds and amassed six points.
 
Rothman led all scorers with 19. Aria Johnson contributed a double-double, scoring 13 points and bringing down 10 rebounds.
 
Next up for the Pioneers is a date with Assumption on Sunday (Nov. 30). The last time these two teams met, LIU Post stunned the Greyhounds on a last-second buzzer beater from then-senior Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship. The opening tip is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.