2012 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship Bracket
Springfield, Mass. - Kelsey Beynnon
(Burlington, Vt.) picked the perfect game to have a career-day. The
junior recorded the first double-double of her career, scoring a
game-high 23 points and nearly tripling her previous personal best with
16 rebounds to help Marist survive a scare from #5 Niagara. The Red
Foxes overcame a 13-point second half deficit, outscoring Niagara 41-14
over the final 19 minutes of the game to win 68-54 Saturday in the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Semifinals at the MassMutual
Center.
Trailing 40-27 with 13:56 left in the game, Beynnon started the
comeback with a layup and followed it up with hitting a pair of free
throws. After a Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.) free throw and a Niagara basket, Beynnon hit two more from the charity stripe and hit another layup. Casey Dulin
(Milford, Conn.) then converted a steal on one end into a breakaway
basket before Yarde hit one of her four three-pointers in the game,
sending the large Marist crown into a frenzy. Beynnon completed the
comeback, tying the score at 43-43 with a long jumper.
The Purple Eagles jumped back ahead 49-45, but Yarde hit another trey
and Dulin hit a jump shot to give Marist (24-7, 17-1 MAAC) their first
lead since six minutes into the game, at 50-49 with 1:34 left. After a
Niagara (14-19, 9-9 MAAC) bucket, Brandy Gang
hit a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining to again give the
Red Foxes the lead. Lauren Gatto hit one of two from the charity stripe
with seven seconds to provide the final scoring in regulation. Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.) attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer that rimmed out.
Gatto hit two free throws to start overtime, but that was the only
offense Niagara could muster for the final five minutes. Marist
outscored the Purple Eagles 16-2 in overtime, including six points from
Dulin and five from Yarde, as the defense stepped up big. Gang had two
blocks, Beynnon had a steal and the Red Foxes forced Niagara into 0-8
shooting.
Beynnon was a career-best 11-12 from the free-throw line and hit six
of her nine shots from the floor. She also added four steals while
playing a career-high 44 minutes. Yarde, coming off of a double-double
performance of her own, finished with 16 points and eight assists, one
off of her own personal best. Dulin had 16 points, six rebounds and four
assists. Gang had 10 points and four blocks and Ockenden had four
assist and four steals and hit a big three-pointer in the overtime
period for her only points of the game. The Red Foxes blocked six
Niagara shots, a day after they blocked seven in the quarterfinals
versus Saint Peter's.
Marist struggled offensively to start the game, missing on their
first five shots. Beynnon finally got the Red Foxes on the board with a
layup with 16:05 remaining in the first half. Meanwhile the defense got
off to a strong start, keeping Niagara to just five points over the
first five minutes. Beynnon and Gang hit back-to-back layups to put
Marist up 6-5.
Niagara went on a 13-3 run over the next seven minutes to open an
18-9 lead. Marist used the charity stripe to get back into the game.
They went 8-8 over the final five minutes, with six of those coming from
Beynnon. Dulin also hit a pair and added a layup.
Yarde hit a three-pointer in the final minute to bring Marist to even
at halftime, 22-22. It was the first time this season that the Red
Foxes were not leading a MAAC opponent at the midway point.
Beynnon led all scorers with 10 points at the break, including those
six from the free-throw line. Gang, Dulin and Yarde all had four points
to provide all of the scoring for Marist.
The Purple Eagles opened the second half on an 18-5 run on the backs
of Gatto and Chanel Johnson who had 10 and four points, respectively.
The streak took the first six minutes of the half before Marist began
their comeback.
Marist will face-off against second-seeded Fairfield Univeristy in the 2012 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship game on Monday, March 5 at 12:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.