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#2 Molloy College will take on #5 New York Institute of Technology in the Finals of the East Coast Conference Championship this afternoon in Bridgeport, Conn. The Lions pulled out a 75-55 win over #3 Saint Thomas Aquinas College while the Bears upset #1 Queens College 76-71 in the Semifinals to earn their spots in the Championship.
The maroon and white were led by 14 points from both
Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.) and
Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.).
Ihnacinse Grady (AmityVille, N.Y.) and
Symone Kelly (Wyandanch, N.Y.) each posted 13 points for Molloy as well. The Lions were behind 18-12 after the first quarter, but came within one point at the half. In the third frame, the maroon and white took their first lead of the game on foul shots from Kelly. The squad would never look back, pulling ahead by as much as 20 points in the victory.
NYIT pulled ahead by as much as 15 points in the first half on a dominating 30 points from Nina Vukosavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia). Queens took a lead with 1:03 left in the contest, but Margaret Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) and Vukosavljevic converted their late opportunities at the line to earn the victory.
During the regular season, the Lions and the Bears split their series. Molloy first picked up a 64-61 contest on the road on Jan. 4 before falling 74-64 in overtime to NYIT on Feb. 15. In the first meeting, Kelly led with 21 points while Thompson and McDonald each put up 14. McDonald also earned a double-double with 11 rebounds. Knollmeyer totaled 20 points while Shanice Allen (Riverhead, N.Y.) scored 15. The Bears saw four players in double-digits in their overtime victory over the Lions, led by 20 points from Julie Williams (Smithtown, N.Y.) and a double-double from Knollmeyer. The maroon and white received 19 points from Thompson, 18 from McDonald and 15 from Grady while
Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
The rubber match to determine the top team in the East Coast Conference is set for tip-off at 12:00 p.m. from Hubbell Gymnasium.
