Women's Basketball Drops 53-51 Heartbreaker at
St. Francis (NY)

(boxscore)

2/2/05 -- Long Island grabbed the lead after trailing by 17 early in the second half, but surrendered Tiffany Hill’s jumper with 9.8 seconds left in a gut-wrenching 53-51 Northeast Conference loss at St. Francis (NY) in Brooklyn Heights.

Down 41-24 with 17:52 left and playing without senior starting forward Polona Oberc (Ljubljana, Slovenia) due to injury, the Blackbirds (9-11, 5-6 NEC) used a 16-4 run over nine minutes to close to 45-40 with 8:55 left. Senior Ravin Chase (Baltimore, Md.) scored eight points and junior Erin Pinchbeck (Albany, N.Y.) capped it on a 3-pointer for LIU, which held St. Francis (NY) without a point for seven minutes in that span.

The Terriers (5-13, 2-7) built the lead to 49-40 with 7:16 remaining on Hill’s free throw before the Blackbirds scored 10 straight for a one-point cushion. Freshman Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) netted five points during that stretch, including two free throws with 3:01 left to end it and give LIU its first lead since 6-4 with 15:24 to play in the opening half.

Hill converted two free throws with 2:35 remaining to hand St. Francis (NY) back the lead, 51-50, and LIU junior Goska Radwan (Stalowa Vola, Poland) hit 1-of-2 from the stripe 29 seconds later for a tie game. Kim Bennett walked with 1:51 left for the Terriers, Pinchbeck missed a short jumper on LIU’s next possession and Hill could not hit a jumper with 50 seconds to play.

The Blackbirds looked to take the lead in the closing seconds, but Whippy had the ball stripped by Valentina Ionova as she was driving to the basket. St. Francis (NY) had the ball with the shot clock turned off. Following two timeouts, Hill scored on a 10-footer for the last of her 15 points.

Sophomore Kelli Sawyer (Philadelphia, Pa.) rushed the ball up, but had it stolen by Hill to hand LIU its third straight loss despite only allowing 12 points following its largest deficit. The Blackbirds shot 42 percent (11-of-26) from the field in the second half and hit six 3-pointers overall.

Chase finished with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting along with nine rebounds, just missing her sixth career double-double. Sawyer closed with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Whippy scored nine points for LIU, which was held without a basket after Chase’s layup with 4:34 left brought the team within 49-48.

Bennett sparked the Terriers with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. St. Francis (NY) was limited to 36 percent (8-of-22) shooting in the second half, but shot 43 percent (20-of-47) overall.

LIU hopes to end its slide Saturday at home against Sacred Heart on Hall-of-Fame Day at Schwartz Center. The NEC quarterfinal rematch from last season, a 51-48 victory for the Pioneers, begins at 2:00 pm followed by the men’s game between the same teams at 4:00 pm. The Blackbirds’ sixth Hall-of-Fame class will be inducted at halftime of the men’s contest.