Women's Basketball: #5 Molloy vs. #2 Queens – NCAA East Regional Championship– 7:00 p.m. – Center for Recreation and Sport
Live Stats: http://www.ncaa.com/game/basketball-women/d2/2017/03/13/molloy-queens-ny
Video: http://www.packnetwork.com/ncaadiieastw/
Tickets: $8 General Admission, $5 Seniors and Children, Molloy students with ID FREE
 
Tonight, women's basketball will face Queens College for the NCAA East Regional Championship. This battle of the top two teams in the East Coast Conference is the first time that two ECC teams will meet in the Regional Finals. The winner will go on to the Elite Eight in Columbus, Ohio on Mar. 21.

To get to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, the Lions first had to defeat #1 Adelphi University. The Panthers had not lost a game on their home court all season. Molloy lead for almost the entire contest, but fell behind 58-57 with 11.8 seconds on the clock. Last second heroics from graduate student Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.), who sent a put-back through the net as the buzzer sounded, sealed a 59-58 victory for the Lions.

With a 24-8 record, the Lions are having their best season since 2009-10, where Molloy fell to Franklin Pierce in the East Regional Semifinals. The maroon and white have been led all season by Thompson, who averages 15.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. Senior Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) and graduate student Symone Kelly (Wyandanch, N.Y.) have each also been key pieces for the Lions this season. McDonald was named Most Outstanding Player in the ECC Tournament and is averaging 13 points per game in the post season while Kelly is averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 boards per game on the year, despite missing six games with injury.

The Knights defeated #6 University of the Sciences, 77-67, to advance to their first-ever Regional Finals. Freshman Beth Bonin (Cicero, N.Y.) scored a game-high 25 points in the victory while Madison Rowland (Albany, N.Y.) and Mackenzie Rowland (Albany, N.Y.) totaled 22 and 15 points, respectively. Both Rowlands are averaging a double-double on the year, with Madison averaging 21.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while Mackenzie pulls down 11.1 boards to go with 17.4 points per game. Madison was named the ECC Player of the Year while Mackenzie took home Defensive Player of the Year titles.

Queens, a fellow member of the ECC, is a familiar opponent for Molloy. The teams split their series in the regular season and did not meet in the postseason. The Lions pulled out an 88-78 victory over the Knights in their first meeting back on Dec. 7, led by 16 points from sophomore McKayla Hernandez (Windermere, Fla.), 15 from Kelly, 14 from McDonald, and 13 from freshman Kathryn Gibson (Neponsit, N.Y.). The loss to Molloy is Queens' only conference loss of the regular season. In their second meeting, Feb. 1, the Knights defeated Molloy 73-58 despite a double-double performance from McDonald.