Women's Basketball Records 63-58 Victory in Preseason Contest

(boxscore)

Long Island University posted a 63-58 victory over M.I. Express in a women’s basketball collegiate exhibition on Friday evening at the Schwartz Center.

Junior newcomer Brittani Kozik (Belle Plaine, Iowa) led the Blackbirds with 15 points, including a team-high four 3-pointers. Junior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) added 12 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor. Senior Amber Wirth (Hastings, Minn.) poured in 10 points off the bench.

The Blackbirds sprinted to 11-2 lead just over five minutes into the game behind a three-pointer from Wirth. LIU amassed a 38-17 advantage –its largest lead- on a Kozik triple just before the half. The Blackbirds led 38-19 at the break.

LIU continued to dominate early in the second half, sparked by two Kozik buckets from three point range to pull ahead 44-21 with 17:47 remaining. M.I. Express rallied, closing the gap to 14 with Lawanda Newman leading the charge. Her old-fashioned three-point play pulled the visitors to 58-44 with 6:32 to play.

Two free throws from sophomore Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) pushed the lead back to 16 on the next play. Express staged a comeback draining two consecutive treys in the final 41 seconds to pull to five as time expired.

M.I. Express, a traveling team of former college standouts, was paced by Lawanda Newman (Norfolk State) registered a game-high 28 points. Candice Edwards (University of Richmond) added eight points and six assists.

LIU opens the 2005-06 campaign on Saturday, November 19. The Blackbirds face Stanford in the opening round of the Subway Classic hosted by University of Minnesota.