Whippy Three-Pointer Helps Women's Basketball Hang On To 61-55 Win Over Robert Morris

(boxscore)

1/15/07 -- Junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) drained a huge three-pointer with 34 seconds left to play to secure a 61-55 Long Island win over Robert Morris in matinee action at the Wellness Center. After the Colonials had cut the Blackbird lead to four points, Whippy’s clutch shot proved to be the final dagger in the Robert Morris comeback bid. The win was the fifth in a row for Long Island.

Coming out of a timeout, senior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) inbounded the ball to freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) near half court. Nainima dribbled down the shot clock before working her way around the top of the key and driving toward the hoop. Just as she got to the basket, she found her fellow Fijian wide open in the corner for a trifecta that put the game out of reach.

Long Island (12-5, 5-1 Northeast Conference) led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Colonials used their size to whittle that differential down to a narrow four points.

Whippy had already given the Blackbirds a huge lift earlier in the game. With her team leading 45-35, the junior launched a trey from in front of the Long Island bench that clanged off the rim. Whippy hustled to the rebound and made an acrobatic windmill pass in the paint to senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia), who was camped out under the basket. Oblak deposited the ball in the net and was fouled in the process. After making the ensuing free-throw, the Blackbirds were up 13 points.

Whippy finished with a game-high 21 points, including four three-pointers. She also added five assists and three steals. Oblak also had a productive game, hitting for 17 points. She nailed a short jumper off a no-look Nainima pass in the first half and later scored on a nifty reverse layup from beneath the basket. Nainima netted 11 points and collected a game-high nine boards.

Long Island held top-ranked offense of Robert Morris (10-5, 4-1) to just 55 points, their lowest output of the season. The Colonials lead the NEC, averaging 76.4 points per game entering the contest. The Blackbirds also put a lid on Robert Morris’ leading scorer Chinata Nesbitt, limiting her to just nine points. Sugeiry Monsac led the Colonials with 20 points.

The Blackbirds won a hotly-contested battle of the boards by a margin of 32-31 and shot 51 percent compared to Robert Morris’ 37 percent.

Long Island will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 17 when the Blackbirds visit local rival St. Francis (N.Y.) for a 7:00 p.m. tip.