Blackbirds Come Back to Force Overtime But Fall to Quinnipiac

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2/19/07 -- The Long Island University women’s basketball team dramatically came back from a 15-point deficit to force overtime, but a last-second bucket by Quinnipiac’s Sarah McGowan gave the Bobcats a 61-59 victory and snapped the Blackbirds’ 13-game winning streak.

After freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) tied the game with a pair of free throws with five second remaining in overtime, Quinnipiac’s Monique Lee launched a baseball pass to half court that was tipped by Long Island senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia). Courtney Kaminski collected the ball and missed a jumper but teammate Mandy Pennewell snared the rebound and fed McGowan, whose layup went through the net with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Senior Mikaelar Whippy’s (Suva, Fiji) ensuing catch-and-release half-court heave fell short.

Quinnipiac (16-8, 10-5 Northeast Conference) built a 43-28 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the second half. That’s when a Nainima three-pointer kicked off a 24-11 run. The Blackbirds (20-6, 13-2) narrowed the Bobcat’s advantage to 10 points with five minutes to play when Nainima sank a pair of free throws. From there, Long Island scored 11 straight points to take its first lead since the 16-minute mark of the first half.

Nainima fired a long pass to Oblak under the basket. Oblak leapt to corral the ball and fired it back to Nainima for a three to put the Blackbirds within one point at 49-48. After the Long Island defense forced a bad shot by Pennewell, Nainima was called for traveling on the ensuing play. The Blackbirds got the ball back after Whippy leapt to intercept a long pass by McGowan. Nainima took charge and drove the lane only to fake out her defender and pull up for a jumper to put Long Island ahead.

On the Bobcats’ next trip down the court, McGowan was fouled and made the first of two free throws. Kaminski came down with the rebound off the miss and her putback gave Quinnipiac a 52-50 lead. Nainima calmly hit another jumper to tie the game with 1:21 to play, but those would be the last points of regulation.

Quinnipiac took a five point lead early in regulation on a three-pointer by Brianna Rooney and a jumper by Kaminski. Senior Brittani Kozik (Belle Plaine, Iowa) knocked down a trey and Whippy added a layup after a Bobcat free throw to get Long Island within one point. Pennewell one of two foul shots to put the Blackbirds in a two-point hole. The next play sent Nainima to the line to tie the game and set up the dramatic finish.

Nainima led all scorers with 24 points, including four three-pointers. Whippy added 15, while Kozik registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kaminski also recorded a double-double, with 21 points and 10 rebounds. McGowan netted 19 points for the Bobcats.

The loss halted the Blackbirds’ school-record 13-game winning streak. It was the first loss for Long Island since Dec. 29. The loss was also ended a 12-game home winning streak.

The game was the first of four in eight days for Long Island. The Blackbirds will visit Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m.