Whippy’s Double-Double Drives Long Island Past St. Francis (N.Y.)

(boxscore)

1/17/07 -- Junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) recorded her first career double-double and freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) scored 17 second-half points as the Long Island University women’s basketball team overcame a rough start to defeat St. Francis (N.Y.), 63-56, and win its sixth game in a row. Whippy finished with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, with the Blackbirds (13-5, 6-1 Northeast Conference) scratching out a 23-22 lead at the break. Long Island shot just 29.6 percent in the first frame and at one point went eight-and-a-half minutes without scoring. The teams appeared to be energized in the second stanza, as they both shot exactly 42.9 percent after halftime.

The Terriers (5-12, 0-6) built a six-point lead with just under 15 minutes to play, but Long Island refused to quail, rattling off a quick 9-2 run to retake the lead. The run was ignited by Nainima, who had a hand in each of the four baskets. After playing just nine minutes due to foul trouble, she knocked down a three-pointer and assisted on the next three buckets. The run was punctuated when Nainima drove the lane on a fast break and dished a nifty no-look pass to senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) for a layup.

St. Francis would eventually take the lead once again, but with the Terriers hold three on Long Island, freshman Minna Sten (Turku, Finland) was fouled while shooting a three-pointer. The 6-foot-3 forward calmly drained all three free throws to tie the game and swing the momentum back in the Blackbirds’ favor.

On St. Francis’ next possession, senior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) came down with a rebound and fed freshman Connie James (Galloway, N.J.) for a fast-break lay-in. From there, Long Island played smart basketball and chipped out a six-point lead. After the Terriers cut the Blackbird edge to four points, Sten stepped to the line again with 41 seconds left and hit two free throws to reestablish the six-point advantage. That would be as close as St. Francis would get. Sten closed with seven points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Tiffany Hill led three Terriers in double-figures with 17 points, while Katja Bavendam collected 12 rebounds to go along with her 15 points.

Long Island will return home to the Wellness Center on Saturday, Jan. 20 to host Fairleigh Dickinson at 2:00 p.m.