Women's Basketball Rallies to Overcome 23-Point Deficit, Upset ECC Rival NYIT 75-74 in Thriller
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 4, 2012) – Senior forward Talia Beaulieu (Waldorf, Md.) hit the game-winning shot with just two seconds remaining as the Mavericks scored a season-high 75 points to give the Mercy College women's basketball team its second East Coast Conference victory of the season over NYIT on Saturday afternoon, 75-74.
Mercy improves to 2-18 overall and 2-9 in the ECC with the win, while NYIT drops to 13-9 (6-4).
The Bears came into the matchup without their top player in senior wing Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn.), the ECC's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, but had plenty more talent to give the Mavericks a tough game.
NYIT went up by eight about 10 minutes into the game thanks to junior center Chloe Johnson (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) and junior guard Nikki Jo Rotolo (Rome, N.Y.) combining to hit five three-pointers in the first half. Mercy recovered to cut the lead to two on two occasions, but a late 16-2 run stretched the margin back out to 16 and eventually 17 heading into the break.
The Bears came out for the second half looking to put the game away, opening up with an 8-2 run to go up by 23. The Mavericks began to stage an incredible rally though, scoring 14 unanswered points over a five-minute interval to cut the lead to nine. The 6'3" Johnson was pulled shortly after when she picked up her fourth foul with 12 minutes still to play and the Mavericks took advantage despite serious foul trouble of their own, scoring another 10 straight to tie the game up at 60 apiece with just under six minutes remaining.
A three-point play by junior guard Rebecca Lynch (Hillsdale, N.J.) gave NYIT the edge again, but some hustle down low from junior forward MarQuesha Moore (Bryans Road, Md.) earned her an offensive rebound and the putback to come within one, and a coast-to-coast layup from senior point guard Simone Williams (Waldorf, Md.) put the Mavericks on top. The teams traded baskets as time ticked away, the Bears led by two with 2:55 to play but Rotolo grabbed an offensive rebound and called a timeout the team did not have, resulting in a technical foul.
Senior forward Jasmine Williams (Stratford, Conn.) hit both free throws to tie things up and another two shortly after to go up by a bucket. Rotolo hit a layup at 1:52 to even the score again at 71-71, but Beaulieu made a driving layup to give the Mavericks the lead once more at 1:25. On the next possession, Rotolo got the ball again and drove to the basket, hitting the layup and picking up a foul for a chance at a three-point play to put the Bears ahead. She sank the free throw and NYIT led by one with 1:06 to play.
With the clock winding down, Mercy searched for a shot but could only come up with an off-balance jumper from Simone Williams that hit iron and landed in Lynch's hands. Jasmine Williams had some fouls to give and used one to stop the clock and send Lynch to the charity stripe with a chance to clinch the game, as only 13 seconds remained. A roar rose from the crowd as she missed the first, and perhaps caused her to miss the second as well. Simone Williams picked up the rebound, dribbled downcourt and dished to Beaulieu, who drove to her right and went up for a 15-footer, which she hit with two seconds on the clock to give the Mavericks the one-point lead.
Mercy defended the inbounds well, knocking the first attempt back out of play and nearly stealing the second, but Rotolo managed to get a long three off which did not fall, handing Mercy the upset and sending the team and fans into celebration.
Beaulieu was the hero of the day with the game-winning basket and posted a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds overall, while Jasmine Williams led the team with 22 points and added seven rebounds and three steals. Williams is the co-ECC leading scorer with 18.0 points per game this season.
Moore added 10 points and eight rebounds and Simone Williams also scored 10 with seven rebounds. Williams' team-high five assists moved her into seventh place on the Mercy career assists list, just two shy of sixth.
Only four Bears scored even a single point and the team was forced into 23 turnovers. Rotolo led the Bears with an ECC season high-tying 36 points, including five treys, while Lynch added 16 points and team-highs in rebounds (eight) and blocks (four) and Johnson scored 14, all coming in the first half.
Head Coach Kelli Dunlay and the Mavericks will look to build on their momentum as they host Dominican (N.Y.) College (9-10, 9-4) on Monday, Feb. 6 for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
