Women's Basketball Rallies But Comes Up Just Short Against No. 15 Bentley At NCAA East Regional, 75-67
Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. (March 11, 2011) – The C.W. Post women's basketball team played a strong second half, but it was not enough to overcome a first half deficit as the Pioneers lost their NCAA East Region opening round game to host and top-seeded Bentley University, 75-67, Friday evening at the Dana Center on Bentley's campus.
Bentley improves to 26-4 overall and will take on the winner of tonight's Saint Rose/Assumption contest on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. C.W. Post closes out its season with a 17-13 overall record.
Perhaps the game-changer occurred in the opening minutes as the Falcons staked themselves out to an 8-0 lead as the Pioneers struggled to land a basket. C.W. Post finally got on the board when sophomore forward Nicolette Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a layup at 14:22. Marciniak would score a team-high eight points in the half with six rebounds.
Bentley maintained a healthy lead throughout the half and used a 10-3 spurt to increase its advantage to 20-7 with 8:51 to play.
The Pioneers continued to battle and cut the lead down to within single digits with under a minute to play. Marciniak scored on a layup and freshman forward Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) added a layup with one second left on the game clock to cut Bentley's lead to 34-27 at the half.
C.W. Post's momentum continued in the second half. Joyner nailed down a three from the left side that started an 11-2 Pioneer run and brought the visitors closer at 48-47 in favor of Bentley with 14:15 to play.
The Falcons got out of the jam with a 10-0 run that included six free throws after the Pioneers got into foul trouble.
C.W. Post continued to play hard down the stretch and cut the lead to seven (72-65) after Joyner swished an 8-foot jumper. But Bentley clung to its lead and made key free throws to keep the Pioneers away.
Joyner scored the game's final two points with a pair of free throws with 43 seconds on the clock.
C.W. Post completed the game shooting .357 (25 of 70) from field goal range and was 13-for-20 at the line. Bentley shot .375 (21 of 56) from the field and was 29-for-38 from the line. The Falcons also outrebounded the Pioneers by a 45-42 count.
Joyner completed the game with 22 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Marciniak registered a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Janea Aiken added 13 points and three assists for the Pioneers.
Jacqui Brugliera paced the Falcons with a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Lauren Battista added 12 points and 10 rebounds toward the winning cause.