Box Score SPARKILL, N.Y. (Feb. 24, 2014) - The Molloy College women's basketball team continues to shore up its playoff chances, this time with a 57-53 victory over East Coast Conference-opponent St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, N.Y. Junior guard/forward
Nicole Arnone (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a stellar night as she netted 16 points and brought down 16 rebounds to help the Lions improve to 14-11 overall and 11-7 in the league. At 11-7, Molloy stands in fifth place in the ECC, trailing the New York Institute of Technology by just one game. Molloy and NYIT will meet on Saturday for the regular season finale.
Picking up right where she left off in the Lions' 70-59 upset win over the University of D.C. on Saturday, senior guard
Kelly Guerriero (Floral Park, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer with 26 seconds elapsed. The Spartans built up a double-digit lead by the 6:43 mark in the first half. By the intermission, Molloy trailed its host, 32-22.
The Lions opened the second stanza on an 11-1 run, which included a pair of treys from sophomore guard
Alexia O'Connor (Centerport, N.Y.) and five points from junior forward
Megan Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y.). With this spurt, Molloy tied the game at 33-all with 15:16 remaining. Over the next five minutes, the two squads mirrored each other. STAC scored four straight, which Molloy answered with four consecutive of its own. Then the two clubs traded a bucket apiece in a see-saw sequence of STAC-Molloy-STAC-Molloy. With 5:20 left, Guerriero hit another big three-ball that gave the Lions a 53-47 lead. The Spartans then scored four straight to bring that deficit down to two points. However, Arnone went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds of the game to help seal the win for the Lions.
For Molloy, Arnone led the game with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Those 16 rebounds tied a career-high for her as she grabbed the same amount on January 8 against Mercy College. Guerriero scored 12 points on four three-balls, while Lonergan added nine points and O'Connor notched eight.
For STAC, Samantha Burden scored nine points to lead the team, while Alyson Brennan had eight points and 12 boards.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Kate Lynch and the Lions return to the hardwood on Wednesday, Feb. 26 when they play at LIU Post beginning at 5 p.m. LiveStats and an audio/video broadcast will be available via www.MolloyLions.com.
LAST TIME THEY MET: On January 22, LIU Post defeated Molloy, 83-74 at Quealy Gymnasium. The Pioneers' Chelsea Williams led the game with 23 points, while Shayna Gatling netted 22. For Molloy, sophomore guard/forward
Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) scored 18 points, while O'Connor had 14.
SCOUTING LIU POST: The Pioneers are currently in first place in the standings with a 16-2 conference ledger, losing only to NYIT and UDC. Their overall ledger is 19-5.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: @MolloyLions | Facebook: Molloy College Athletics | YouTube: Molloy Lions
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