aungst
Carey Action Photography
69
Centenary University CEWB 11-15
81
Winner Marywood University MUWB 15-11
Centenary University CEWB
11-15
69
Final
81
Marywood University MUWB
15-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Centenary University CEWB 14 16 21 18 69
Marywood University MUWB 15 18 29 19 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Pacers Advance to CSAC Semis Behind Balanced Performance

Scranton, Pa. – Marywood University reached the Colonial States Athletic Conference women's basketball semifinals for the third consecutive season with an 81-69 victory over No. 5 Centenary University Monday in the first round. The fourth-seeded Pacers advance to face top-seeded Cabrini on Wednesday in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

The Pacers earn their first CSAC playoff victory since a first round win over Neumann University in 2012-13.

Five players reached double figures for the Pacers. Gab Giordano led the team with 19 points, moving her into 12th all-time in school history.

Aryah Aungst had a lights-out performance with 17 points, seven rebounds and four 3-pointers. Alyssa Olson matched her with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Both Catie Nealon and Erika Bistran finished with 10 points apiece. Bistran was one rebound shy of a double-double, in addition to five assists. Natasha Hessling grabbed her 500th career rebound with seven for the game. 

Centenary's Rachel Edwards reached the 1,000 point plateau with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nicole Cartaino figured in with 25 points. Julia Presant had a rare 10 point, 10 assists double-double.

Marywood started off cold by falling to an early 10-6 disadvantage. Nealon ended a three-minute dry spell for the Pacers with a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in the first. She snagged a defensive rebound and dished a pass inside to Natasha Hessling for a layup to take the lead. Nealon snapped back three possessions later, after the Cyclones reassumed the advantage, with a layup that helped propel the Pacers into a one-point advantage at first quarter's end.

After making a bucket on their first possession of the second, the Pacers hit a lull that started a five-minute drought without a field goal. The Cyclones (11-15) went on a 12-point run. Julia Pankowski made a layup for an 18-17 lead, and Edwards capped the momentum with a jumper from Stephanie Jeter to go ahead 26-17 with 5:16 remaining.

Marissa Fernandez-Tierney briefly sawed away at the deficit, but Edwards made a trip to the line worth it to extend the lead back to 28-20. Over the final 3:05 of the second quarter, Marywood outscored the Cyclones 13-2. Aungst made back-to-back 3-pointers to retake the lead (32-30) with 31 seconds remaining in the half.

On three occasions, Centenary came to within one in the third quarter – the last was a Cartaino layup to make it a 43-42 game with 6:02 on the clock. The Pacers steamrolled ahead to a 10-point run over the next three minutes. Aungst kicked it off with another three, and Olson bookended the spree with a pair of jump shots.

After leading by as many as 14 (74-60) in the fourth quarter, Centenary made one last charge in the final minutes. Cartaino made a layup that slimmed the Pacers' lead to eight with 2:05. It was Aungst again with a 3-pointer that proved to be the dagger to the heart of Cyclones' semifinal aspirations.

The Pacers recouped from a paltry 27 percent shooting effort in the first half by hitting 58.6 percent of their second half attempts for a 40.9 percent mark for the game. Similarly, the Pacers were abysmal from beyond the arc in the first half with six 3s in the latter half saving grace at a 34.6 percent clip. Centenary bettered the Pacers with a 42 field goal percentage, but made just one out of 12 attempts from long range.

Marywood (15-11) outrebounded its counterparts 46-40. The Pacers bench outscored Centenary 29-6.

Gametime for Wednesday's semifinal at Cabrini is 6:00 pm. 
 
 
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