Easton, Mass. – The No. 6 seed LIU Post women's basketball team came up short in a defensive battle during the NCAA Division II East Region Quarterfinals, suffering a 61-50 loss to No. 3 seed University of the Sciences at Merkert Gymnasium March 9.
The Pioneers close out their outstanding season with a 22-8 overall record, recording the sixth 20-win season in program history. The NCAA berth marked the first appearance in the 64-team tournament since the 2013-14 season.
Senior Sasha Patterson recorded her seventh straight double-double, scoring 20 points and hauling in 13 rebounds to lead the LIU Post scorers. Senior Naya Williams added eight points in 22 minutes off the bench, while junior Shannon Doyle netted nine points. Jordan Vitelli led USciences with a game-high 21 points.
Patterson helped guide the Pioneers out of the gate, scoring 10 points during the opening quarter. The Green and Gold jumped out to an early 9-2 lead after Doyle knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing and junior Taylah Hudson followed up with two free throws on the following possession. The Devils clawed back, however, and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Player of the Year Sarah Abbonizio knocked down a triple to tie the score at 16-16 and USciences eventually took an 18-17 lead into the first intermission.
Following a Hudson three-point bucket to open the second-quarter scoring, the Devils countered with a 12-2 burst to take its largest lead of the first half at 29-22. Layups by Patterson and sophomore Mikaiya Moore, however, made it a one-possession game at the second quarter media timeout. Despite trailing by six with one minute remaining in the half, the Pioneers closed on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to one point (32-31) entering the locker room.
A bit of second-half nerves plagued the Pioneers to begin the third quarter, as LIU Post scored just three points during the first six minutes of the stanza on 1-of-9 shooting. The cold stretch allowed USciences to extend the lead back to seven points (41-34), but Williams snuck through the defense to spin home a layup and followed up with a three-pointer from the top of the arc to make it a four-point game. Despite the Devils going ahead by as many as seven points, Doyle knocked down a baseline jumper at the third quarter buzzer to make it 46-41 with 10 minutes to play.
The two squads traded buckets through the first five minutes of the final frame, and the Devils continued to hold a five-point lead (51-46) at the under-5:00 media timeout. The Devils scored five unanswered points, however, to extend the lead to 10 points (56-46) with 3:06 to play. Consecutive layups by Patterson made it a two-possession game once again, but Uscience's Irisa Ye drove into the paint and put home a layup to put the Pioneers out of reach for good, as the Devils held on for the 61-50 victory.
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
