ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 25, 2017) – The Molloy women' basketball team officially clinched the two-seed in the East Coast Conference tournament with a 58-49 win over LIU Post today in Quealy Gymnasium. The Lions were led by double-doubles from both
Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) and
Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.), who were two of the six seniors honored in a pre-game ceremony. McDonald totaled a game-high 15 points with 10 boards while Thompson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go with 13 points.
The maroon and white found themselves down 6-5 in the opening minutes, but ended the first quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 15-9 lead into the second frame. Thompson opened the second quarter with five straight points to extend the lead to 20-9. The Pioneers would come within six points following a free throw from Sasha Patterson (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who ended with 14 points and 16 rebounds. A fast break three-pointer from freshman
Kathryn Gibson (Neponsit, N.Y.) set the score 31-21 in favor of the Lions at the half.
In the third, LIU Post would twice come as close as six points, but would trail 45-39 as the teams entered the final 10 minutes of play. Early in the fourth quarter, a three-pointer from Kylie Garrett (Mount Orab, Ohio) closed the gap to just five points. Graduate student
Symone Kelly (Wyandanch, N.Y.) quickly countered with a layup to put the Lions up 49-42. In the final five minutes, the Pioneers would come within five twice more, including once with 30 seconds left to play, but foul shots from Kelly and senior
Shantana Kanhoye (South Richmond Hill, N.Y.) sealed the 58-49 victory in favor of the home team.
Sophomore
Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) joined McDonald and Thompson in double-digits, totaling 10 points on the afternoon. Kelly and Gibson each scored eight in the win for Molloy.
The Lions will appear in the ECC Semi-Finals in Bridgeport, Conn. on Saturday (Mar. 4), but will not find out their opponent until the conclusion of the play-in round on Wednesday (Mar. 1). Stay tuned to
www.molloylions.com for more information.
