Women's Basketball Falls, 65-60, At Columbia

(boxscore)

12/11/04 -- Senior Polona Oberc (Ljubljana, Slovenia) scored 18 points and freshman Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) netted a season-best 16, but it was not enough for Long Island in a 65-60 loss to Columbia in New York.

The Blackbirds (3-3) took their final lead, 30-29 with 17:29 left, when sophomore Kelli Sawyer (Philadelphia, Pa.) grabbed Oblak’s miss and hit a layup. The Lions (6-3) then exploded on a 17-4 run to open a 46-34 cushion with 10:04 remaining, capped on a 3-pointer by Megan Griffith.

Down 49-38 with 8:35 to go, LIU netted five straight points that ended with Oblak’s 3-point play for a six-point deficit with 7:18 left. But Columbia went on a 10-2 run for a 59-45 lead with 4:31 remaining and LIU could get no closer than the final.

Oberc poured in 14 points in the second half to help the Blackbirds hit 43 percent (15-of-35) from the floor during that stretch. Sawyer closed with 14 points overall on 6-of-9 shooting for LIU, which shot 45 percent (26-of-58) for the contest.

Susan Kern and Erin Jaschik scored 17 points apiece for the Lions, who hit a scorching 65 percent (15-of-23) from the field after intermission and 58 percent (25-of-43) overall. Megan Griffith netted nine points and Adia Revell grabbed 11 rebounds.

LIU is home Thursday to face New Orleans. Tip-off is at 7:00 pm.