Box Score VIDEO of McDonald's buzzer-beater
LAKELAND, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2014) - The Molloy College women's basketball team wanted to avenge yesterday's loss on Day 1 of the Terrace Hotel Classic -- and the Lions did so in a big way.
The Lions won a thriller on a buzzer-beating three-pointer out of the hands of sophomore guard
Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) to defeat #10 University of Tampa, 59-58. The tournament was hosted by Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. The win brings the Lions back to .500 on the season at 5-5 to end the 2014 calendar year. The loss drops the Spartans to 7-3 on the campaign.
McDonald finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the game, while the Lions' offense was led by senior center
Megan Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and her 13 points (6-10 shooting). Off the bench, junior guard/forward
Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) contributed 11 points.
Although Molloy was playing the team ranked 10th in the nation amongst NCAA Division II, the Lions weren't fazed. At halftime, the Lions led the Spartans by three points and held their largest lead of 12 points at the 12:17 mark of the second half. The Spartans did regain the lead in the second stanza when junior Juliana Cavallaro hit a three-ball with nine minutes left. The teams traded buckets down the stretch as Tampa took a two-point lead with 3.1 seconds remaining on a pair of made free throws by Cavallaro. And then, McDonald released the ball from beyond the arc right before the buzzer sounded and a mere moment later the net swooshed and the Lions were sent into a joyful frenzy.
The Lions return to New York going 1-1 in the Terrace Hotel Classic, recording one of the biggest upsets of the year.
The University of Tampa was led by Cavallaro who had 19 points on 4-13 shooting.
BY THE NUMBERS: Molloy shot an incredible 52.2% from the floor this afternoon (24-46), while going 6 for 12 from three-point land...The Lions were only sent to the charity stripe nine times, making five of those attempts.
COACH LYNCH'S COMMENTS: "I am really proud of our team. They played with confidence and were fearless. We knew we had to limit our turnovers, rebound the ball and take good shots. We were able to do that for most of the game. We had very few breakdowns defensively and against a team like Tampa, that's what you need to do to win."
ALIYAH'S ANALYSIS: "We played really hard and fought the entire way. We didn't give up and had confidence in each other," said McDonald.
NEXT UP: Head Coach
Kate Lynch and the Lions open up the 2015 calendar year on Sunday, January 4 when they travel to the City of Brotherly Love to take on Philadelphia University at 1 p.m. Check back on MolloyLions.com for links to LiveStats and a video broadcast.
