Box Score
Scranton, PA – Leading by six points with 16:25 left in Thursday evening's Colonial States Athletic Conference women's basketball game, Marywood University went on 9-0 run to put the game out of reach on their way to a 64-49 victory. The Pacers improve to 17-6 on the season and 11-3 in the CSAC with the win, which coupled with Baptist Bible's loss to Neumann, clinches Marywood a berth in the conference playoffs for the third-straight season.
Marywood built a 15-5 lead over the first 7:03 of Thursday night's game, but Keystone went on a quick 8-0 run to cut their deficit to two points with 10:18 to play in the first half. The two teams swapped buckets over the next six minutes and the Giants were able to tie the score at 22-22 with 4:35 left in the period when Melinda Moore completed a three-point play. On their next possession, the Pacers got a three-pointer from Lauren Rogan to put them back in front which started a 10-2 run by Marywood to help the hosts enjoy a 34-26 lead at halftime.
The Pacers and Giants again traded field goals over the first three and a half minutes of the second half, but a jumper by Marywood's Marielle Thorsen at the 15:29 mark started a decisive 9-0 run that put the hosts up by 15 points at 49-34 with 12:14 to play capped by a Rogan three-pointer. Keystone was unable to cut their deficit to less then 12 points for the remainder of the game as the Pacers completed the season-sweep of the series.
Marywood had three players record double-digit performances, led by Rogan's 16 points which came on 5-9 shooting including an impressive 4-5 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the free throw line. Thorsen finished with 13 points while Mariah Schaeffer netted 11 points for the Pacers. Allison Bruet turned in a solid all-around game in the victory, scoring nine points while dishing out a game-high seven assists and adding a team-leading seven rebounds. Marywood converted 44.2 percent of their field goal attempts, 35.3 percent from three-point land, and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Keystone, who saw their record fall to 5-16 overall (5-8 CSAC) with the loss, was led by a double-double from Melinda Moore who had game-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ellen Fallon added 12 points and a game-high seven steals for the Giants, who shot 35.1 percent from the field for the game, 40 percent from three-point range, and went 5 of 11 from the free throw line.
Thursday night's game was a WBCA Pink Zone game as part of an initiative to raise money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer awareness.
Marywood returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a 1:00 conference game at Cedar Crest College before closing out the regular season next Thursday when they host CSAC North rival Centenary College at 6:00 p.m.
