Women's Basketball Comes Up Short Against Queens, 71-61
Box Score
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (Mar. 7, 2009) – Queens College held off C.W. Post with a 13-6 point run in the final five minutes of the East Coast Conference semi-final game to defeat the Pioneers 71-61. The top-seeded Knights will face the winner of the afternoon's second semi-final match-up in the final game of the East Coast Conference women's basketball tournament.
With the win, Queens improves to 23-6 overall while C.W. Post ends its season with an overall record of 13-14.
Queens College got off to an early lead, keeping the Pioneers at bay with a 7-0 run in the beginning of the first half. Freshman forward Noelle Pawlicki (Staten Island, N.Y.) brought C.W. Post within one, nailing her first three point basket of the day, pulling up the score to 9-8. The Knights maintained their lead, while Pioneers Gina Catherall (Bayside, N.Y.) and Whitney Murrer (Richmond, Va.), along with Pawlicki, led their team on a 7-3 run to pull themselves within reach of Queens at the end of the first half, 32-28.
Catherall led C.W. Post into the second half scoring seven points, which cut Queens' lead to one point. The teams then continued to trade baskets for most of the second half. Murrer made a free throw at 7:35 to tie the score at 49-49. Catherall then shot a jumper one minute later to bring the Pioneers to their first lead of the game. The Knights took the lead again with free throws from Janine Maser and would stay on top for the remainder of the game.
Catherall led the Pioneers with 25 points, three assists and five steals, while Pawlicki contributed ten points and two assists, making three of seven attempts from the three-point arc. Murrer earned herself a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, shooting six for 10 from the field.
Graduate student Jennifer DiChiara led the scoring for the Knights with 26 points while Amanda Bartlett contributed 18 points and four assists to Queens' win.
The Knights completed the game shooting .440 (22 of 50) while outrebounding the Pioneers, 42-38. C.W. Post shot .333 (22 of 66) from the field and scored 23 points off its opponents 20 turnovers.