(boxscore)
11/25/05 -- Long Island University
senior Amber Wirth (Hastings, Minn.) scored in double-digits for
the second
game in a row but her effort could not hold off Lafayette College
as the Blackbirds fell, 63-48, on Friday afternoon at Schwartz
Athletic Center. The contest was the first game of annual LIU Turkey
Classic.
Lafayette (3-0) was led by Vanessa Van De Venter with 16 points
and 12 rebounds. Brittany Purr followed with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) notched 10 points for
the Blackbirds (1-2).
A 3-pointer by Wirth pulled LIU to two, 17-15 at the 6:18 mark
of the first half. The Leopards closed the half on a 9-2 run, capped
off by a Van De Venter layup to lead 26-17 at intermission. Lafayette
scored 14 points on 12 LIU turnovers.
The Leopards started the second half with an 8-0 spurt, taking
a 30-17 advantage on a Van De Venter jumper with 18:48 remaining.
The Blackbirds erupted on a 13-4 tear, beginning with a jumper
from With and closing the run on a 10-footer from Sonya Coleman
(Toledo, Ohio) to pull to within four points (34-30).
A trey from Jessica Spicer pushed Lafayette’s lead back to
double-digits less than two minutes later, capping off yet another
run (7-2) and giving the visitors a 41-30 advantage with 12:12
showing. LIU cut the lead to eight (47-39) with 7:40 remaining
but could get not closer dropping the 63-48 decision.
In the second game of the day, James Madison University dropped
Cal Poly, 74-63. Three Dukes scored in double figures to seal the
victory. Junior Meredith Alexis, the reigning Colonial Athletic
Association Player of the Week, scored 20 points, 15 in the second
half. She added 18 rebounds.
Junior Lesley Dickinson, a native of Queens, N.Y., posted 19 points
and five assists while teammate Shirley McCall poured in 16 points
for James Madison.
Junior Emilie Ravn led the Mustangs with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Megan Harrison added 12 points while junior Sparkle Anderson
chipped in 10 points, three assists and two steals.
Cal Poly led 32-26 at intermission but the Dukes came out firing
in the second stanza, taking their game inside and holding the
Mustangs scoreless for the first three minutes of the half. JMU
tied the contest at 32-32 on a layup from Dickinson and pushed
it to six points (45-39) five minutes later.
The Mustangs took over the lead 50-49 on a layup from Michelle
Henke at the 10:23 mark but the Dukes had an answer behind the
inside play of Alexis. Her layup on the next possession gave JMU
a lead it would relinquish.
LIU will compete in the consolation game of the annual Turkey Classic
versus Cal Poly (2-1) on Saturday, November 26. Tip-off is at 2:00
p.m. The championship game will follow with James Madison and Lafayette
doing battle.
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