Women's Basketball Puts Away Queens, 84-63

3/1/2014 10:22:00 PM

Box Score

FLUSHING, N.Y. (Mar. 1, 2014) - The LIU Post women's basketball team wrapped up the 2013-14 regular season Saturday afternoon with a convincing 84-63 win versus Queens at Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Flushing, N.Y.

The Pioneers (21-5, 18-2 ECC) and Knights (19-7, 15-5 ECC), the top two squads in the East Coast Conference, opened up the contest with an erratic pace, as most of the action came from both defenses. The teams combined for five missed field goals before Kristen Korzevinski gave the hosts a 3-0 edge two-and-a-half minutes in. The trey seemed to spark the green and gold's offense, as they responded with an 8-0 burst to take a lead they would never relinquish.

Over the last four-and-change of the session, LIU Post was in front 21-19, until junior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) scored five straight points in a two-minute stint, followed by a jumper from senior guard Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) to give the Pioneers a 28-20 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Williams grabbed an early offensive board and hit a put-back lay-up to extend the Pioneers' cushion to 10 (30-20) just 16 seconds in. Later in the second half, with LIU Post ahead 55-44, senior guard Kiki Sears (Hampton, Va.) drained a three to give the visitors a comfortable 18-point lead at the 7:15 mark.

With time winding down, the Pioneers sealed the victory by hitting 11-of-12 free throws in the final 1:08 of play. Sears and Peters netted four apiece, while Williams went 3-of-4.

Williams poured in a game-high 21 points. Peters was close behind with 20, and Sears chipped in 17. Senior forward Shayna Gatling (Baldwin, N.Y.) amassed 14 points. As a team, the Pioneers finished 22-of-25 from the stripe, and shot 44.4 percent from the field. The LIU Post defense came away with 17 steals and caused 31 turnovers.

Head Coach Deirdre Moore and the Pioneers have earned a first-round bye in next week's ECC Championship, and will await the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal between Molloy and NYIT. LIU Post will face the winner Thursday (Mar. 6) at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.