OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The LIU Post women's basketball team suffered its first East Coast Conference (ECC) loss of the season, coming up short in round two of the Battle of the Boulevard rivalry with New York Institute of Technology, 79-72 in overtime Jan. 27.
 
The Pioneers' nine-game win streak against conference opponents was ended with the loss, but keeps LIU Post in at least a share of the top spot in the league standings at 9-1. The Bears improve to 6-4 in conference play with the win.
 
A furious fourth-quarter comeback was spoiled by a 17-point effort by NYIT in the extra period. Trailing by nine points (60-51), with 4:55 to play, the Pioneers started to chip away at the deficit. A layup by sophomore Mikaiya Moore followed up by a three-pointer by classmate Asia Turner cut the deficit down to four points (60-56) with 2:27 remaining. After two defensive stands, senior Sasha Patterson dropped in a layup, and later leveled the scoring with another bucket down low to cap off a 9-0 run and level the scoring at 60.
 
Out of a timeout, NYIT's Nina Vukosavljevic knocked down a 12-foot jumper with 17 ticks on the clock, forcing a Pioneer timeout. The Pioneers looked to ride the hot hand, but this time Patterson missed a layup attempt but gathered the offensive board and was fouled with nine seconds remaining, sending her to the free throw line. The senior drilled both attempts to tie the score and a steal off the inbounds pass forced overtime.
 
It was a high-scoring overtime period, as the two teams combined for 27 points during the five-minute stanza. NYIT jumped ahead early, scoring the first seven points of the frame and never looked back. The Pioneers got within five points twice, but were unable to overcome the slow start as the Bears held on for the 79-72 victory.
 
Patterson finished with a game-high 27 points, hauling in a season-high 17 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Senior Kyle Garrett netted 11 points while grabbing six rebounds, and Moore added 10 points and seven rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for the Pioneers. Sophomore Taylah Hudson dished out a team-best five assists in 38 minutes.
 
LIU Post returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 31 when they head up Interstate-95 to battle the University of Bridgeport at 5:00 p.m.