LIU
Hands St. Francis (PA) 65-50 defeat; Three
Blackbirds Net Double Figures |
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(boxscore) Senior Amber Wirth (Hastings, Minn.) tied Oblak as high scorer in the game with 14 and matched her career-high with five assists. After seesawing back and forth for much of the first half, junior Masa Susic (Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina) provided a spark off the bench as she drained a three-pointer and hit a layup in a 5-0 run which gave LIU its largest advantage of the period, 30-25. Two free throws by the Red Flash’s Beth Halter right before halftime cut the LIU lead to three at the break. Wirth led the Blackbirds with eight points in the first half, while Amber Hein also had eight for SFPA. Long Island came out strong in the second half defensively, limiting the Red Flash to 38.5 percent from the field and holding them scoreless for an 8:46 stretch midway through the stanza. Oblak scored six points during the span that saw the Blackbirds extend their lead to 15 points (48-33) with 8:13 remaining in the game. “We really set the tone in the second half defensively,” head coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “Our kids did a great job executing our game plan.” A Shawna Scott three-pointer cut the LIU lead to 11, but the Blackbirds made nine of 10 foul shots down the stretch to seal the win. Junior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) also had a strong game, scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists while not turning the ball over. It was LIU’s first victory over St. Francis (Pa.) since the 2001-02 season. The Blackbirds continue NEC play on Saturday, Jan. 21 at home
against Monmouth. The game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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1/16/06--Junior
Sara Oblak scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in a second half
surge that pushed the Long Island University women’s basketball
team to a 65-50 victory over defending Northeast Conference champion
St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto, Pa. on Monday evening.