ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 11, 2016) – A classic-case scenario unfolded for the Molloy College women's basketball team in a span of 24 hours. Because of this, the Lions now find themselves significantly closer to a play-off spot than they were when the week began. With this newfound momentum, Molloy will turn to a Saturday (Feb. 13) showdown with a team that has yet to lose in conference play in the Bears of NYIT.
The Lowdown on the Lions
It was more or less an episode from "Survivor" than an actual basketball game on Wednesday night (Feb. 10) as the maroon and white survived an epic comeback from LIU Post, two overtime periods, and eight foul-out disqualifications (four from each team) to knock off the Pioneers by a 95-87 score. Molloy shot 50% from both the field (30-60) and the three-point line (11-22), but only managed a 59% (24-41) statistic from the foul line in the game. The Lions committed 22 turnovers in the win but survived thanks to some clutch play from the bench after a majority of the starters were forced out with their fifth foul.
Salomone Plays Savior
One of those clutch heroes was junior guard Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I.), whose one-versus-all performance in the final overtime period may have saved the Lions' season. Salomone tied her Molloy-high with a 16-point effort, including 13 points in overtime. The junior went 8-for-9 from the free throw line in the second extra session of play in lifting the Lions to the hard-fought win.
Rebounding Questions
Not everything about Wednesday night's win was glamorous. As a matter of fact, the minus-15 margin in rebounding (52-37) provides a red flag of concern for a team that could be nearing a first-round play-off game against a team with little difficult in rebounding the basketball. Creating more chaos could be the 23 offensive rebounds yielded by Molloy to LIU Post which turned into 28 second-chance points for the green and gold. Performances on the blocks like the one on Wednesday could ultimately shelve the play-off dreams of the maroon and white in what to this point has been the most pleasantly surprising development in the East Coast Conference slate this season.
Wins of Importance
Molloy's win on Wednesday brought the Lions into a virtual tie with Saint Thomas Aquinas for fifth place in the East Coast Conference standings. The Spartans' overtime loss versus Daemen on Thursday night, however, gave the maroon and white sole possession of fifth place in the race to the postseason. The Wildcats' win, however, upped their record to 5-9 in the ECC slate. With Bridgeport sitting at 5-8, the final two spots in the ECC Tournament are still very much up for grabs. Saturday's schedule of contests will feature: LIU Post (5-10) and Queens (9-5), Daemen (5-9) and Mercy, Bridgeport (5-8) and UDC (12-3), St, Thomas Aquinas (6-9) and Roberts Wesleyan (11-3), and lastly Molloy (6-8) and NYIT (15-0).
Osos en el Fuego
The Spanish translation for "Bears on Fire" could literally not describe the season for NYIT any better. New York Tech has won 16 games in a row including all 15 of its ECC contests, and the Bears are the only team in the ECC with 20 or more wins so far (21-5 overall). What has helped Anthony Crocitto's team is the ability to win in any type of affair: in the 16-game win streak, 11 victories came by more than ten points while the other five were single-digit wins. The Bears claimed a 61-56 win over Queens College on Wednesday by virtue of a 20-9 fourth quarter that was buoyed by the Knights' foul trouble. Junior forward Shannon Duer (Islip, N.Y.) had a team-high 15 points for NYIT.
Rising Up the Regional Rankings
NYIT has had the most volatile time in terms of bouncing all over the D2SIDA Women's Basketball Media Poll. The Bears were out of the poll for a few weeks before the recent 16-game winning streak, which now has the Bears at fourth in the poll with Roberts Wesleyan ranking at No. 2 among the East Coast Conference representatives. A few more wins from NYIT could sway more voters to believe in the Bears more as the ECC Tournament draws nearer.
Pick Your Poison
The beauty of NYIT's magical run comes from the fact that this team is so dangerous and that any player can beat an opponent at any time. It comes from the team's leading point-getter in senior forward Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt); the double-double per game averages of Duer; the frenzied high-pace play of guard Shanice Allen (Riverhead, N.Y.); or the amazing court vision and passing ability of Nina Vukosavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia). The fact is that any time the Bears step on the court, the opposition must understand that the versatility of the weaponry in Old Westbury could lead to a long 40 minutes of hoops.
Prior Meeting
NYIT led wire-to-wire in a 70-56 victory at Molloy on Jan. 9 in a game where Ragab scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Duer had a double-double (11 & 10) for the Bears in Coach Crocitto's 100th East Coast Conference victory of his career. NYIT was able to pick up the win thanks to a defensive effort that yielded just five points in the second quarter and seven in the fourth.
