FINAL SECOND HALF BURST PUSHES WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PAST STAC, 83-72

Box Score vs. STAC - January 29, 2009

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2009) – Tied at 69-69 with over four minutes left in the second half, the Molloy College women’s basketball squad registered a 13-3 run in a span of 3:51 to lift itself to an 83-72 win over St. Thomas Aquinas College on Thursday evening at Quealy Gym in Rockville Centre, N.Y. Leading the streak were junior guards Lisa Abitante (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Clarissa Jones (Boston, Mass.), who totaled nine of the points.

In the first half, the two teams were knotted at 15-all with 10-plus minutes to go. The Spartans (6-10, 4-5 ECC) then posted a 13-4 run over a period of 3:19 to take a 28-19 lead with 7:12 left. Freshman guards Natalie Catavero (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Sylvia Davis (St. Albans, N.Y.) started things by knocking down three consecutive trifectas from just outside the arc. Freshman forward/center Briana Sloper (Williston Park, N.Y.) capped it off with a jumper.

The Lions (14-3, 8-1 ECC) responded with a 12-3 streak during a four-minute stretch to tie the game up at 31-31. Abitante finished it off with two threes. Jones, senior forward Katelyn Dunn (Bethpage, N.Y.) and junior forward Kymira Woodberry (Boston, Mass.) each added deuces in the burst. However, STAC went into the break with a four-point advantage by earning four of the last eight points. Catavero drove the lane for a lay-up as time expired.

Molloy kicked off the latter stanza by tallying eight of the first 12 points to knot things up at 43-43. Woodberry had a pair of jays, while Jones and junior guard E.J. Dreyer (Floral Park, N.Y.) put up lay-ups. One minute later, the contest remained tied (48-48). The Spartans then notched a 10-2 spurt in a time of 2:22 to go up 58-50 with 11:53 remaining. Five different players scored points. Junior guard Colleen Vogel (Emerson, N.J.) headlined the run with a three-pointer.

But, the Lions had an answer yet again. This time, it was a 7-2 burst over a span of 1:21 to cut the deficit to three at the 8:32 juncture. Woodberry had three of the points off a free throw and a lay-up. Dreyer and junior guard Tatiana Lopez (Lakeview, N.Y.) contributed a jay and a lay-up as well, respectively. Not much after, Molloy tied the count at 64-all on a wide-open look from three by Jones with 6:03 left.

That was subsequently followed by the game-winning streak from Molloy, which shot 50.0 percent (32-for-64) from the field and 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the line. Woodberry finished with a double-double (23 points, 15 rebounds). Her point total also came off of 9-for-14 shooting from inside the arc. Abitante recorded 15 points, five assists and two steals. In the process, she hit four three-balls. Jones picked up 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Dreyer checked in with 10 points, five boards, four steals, two blocks and two assists. Dunn accumulated six points, three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Lopez had four points and two boards. Senior guard Jenna McLaughlin (Carle Place, N.Y.) posted three assists and two points. Sophomore forward/center Shauna Wilson (West Hempstead, N.Y.) raked in two points, one assist and one steal.

As for STAC, it was 22-of-47 (46.8 percent) from the floor, 6-of-12 (50.0 percent) from long distance and 22-of-28 (78.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Sloper collected 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Theresa Dowling (Congers, N.Y.) tallied 12 points. Davis amassed 11 points, six assists and one steal. Vogel gathered 10 points, four assists, three boards and one steal.

Catavero and senior forward Claire Wilson (Boonton, N.J.) scored eight points apiece. They also combined to pull down nine boards as Wilson had five, while Catavero brought down four. Junior guard Kaitlin Page (Pearl River, N.Y.) contributed three points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist. Freshman guard Kimberly Vareles (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) added a pair of boards.

Head Coach Tim O’Hagan and the Lions return to action in two days when they travel to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. for a noon tip-off at Mercy College. You can view all of the match-ups in-game progress via a Live Stats feed at http://livestats.prestosports.com/mercy.