(boxscore)
3/3/07
-- The top-seeded Long Island
University women’s basketball team was upended by
crosstown rival St. Francis (N.Y.), 61-51, in the quarterfinals
of
the Northeast Conference Tournament. The game was not nearly
as close as the score, as the eighth-seeded Terriers raced
out to a 21-5 lead and kept the Blackbirds at bay.
“They were the better team today,” Long Island head
coach Stephanie V. Gaitley said. “The final score
was not indicative of the game. They put us on our heels
early and my hat’s off to them.”
With
St. Francis leading 5-4, the Terriers went on a seven-minute,
16-1 run that put the Blackbirds in a
deep hole. St. Francis’ frenzied
full-court press flummoxed Long Island, forcing the
Blackbirds into 11 first-half turnovers. Long Island
shot a dismal
26 percent from the floor in the first period, going
5-for-19, but managed to whittle the St. Francis lead
to 12 at the
break.
The Blackbirds (22-8) cut the deficit to 10 points
when senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) hit
a jumper
to open the second stanza, but St. Francis (13-17)
scored the next 13 points to reestablish a commanding
hold on
the game. The run was punctuated by three consecutive
three-pointers by Linda Warrington, Sarah Bratton and
Tiffany Hill. Bratton
finished with a game-high 20 points and Hill chipped
in 15.
St. Francis stretched its lead to as many as 24 points
and there was little that Long Island could do to build
a comeback. By the time the Blackbirds had cut the
Terrier lead to 13 points, there was under a minute
remaining.
Lost in the shuffle were NEC Player and Rookie of the
Year Valerie Nainima’s (Suva, Fiji) 19 points and junior
Mikaelar Whippy’s (Suva, Fiji) double-double with
16 points and 10 rebounds. Most of the Fijians’ points
came in the waning minutes however, as both players
got off to cold starts.
Long Island outrebounded the Terriers, by a 36-31 margin,
with Whippy’s 10 boards tying St. Francis’ 6-foot-8
Katja Bavendam for the game high. The Blackbirds wound
up shoot 36 percent for the game, while the Terriers
shot 44 percent.
The loss marked the first time in NEC history
that a No. 8 seed upset a No. 1 seed. After earning the No.
1 seed, Long Island
is guaranteed a berth in the Women’s National Invitation
Tournament. The 48-team WNIT field will be announced on March
12, following the announcement of the NCAA Tournament selections.
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