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UMW's Debbie Bruen draws a foul from Salisbury's
Mary Washington's Liz Hickey drives around Salisbury's Meghan Klug to score two |
BY KURT NICOLL
Games can turn dramatically with a 3-pointer in a critical situation. Likewise, dominating the defensive boards and possessing a dominant shot blocker can wear an opponent down just as quickly.
Hard-pressed by visiting Salisbury University through the first half last night, the Mary Washington women's basketball team relied on its defensive prowess to turn up the pressure in a 79-58 victory in the semifinal round of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament.
The Eagles (25-2) will host Marymount tomorrow in the CAC final at a time to be announced.
"In the second half we focused on defense and went from there," junior center Liz Hickey said. "Coming in, we were No. 1 in the country for defensive field goal percentage. We needed to focus on that because that's what makes us win games. That's how we get our offense going is focusing on defense--making sure we had our help rotations down and limiting the easy shot opportunities."
After registering no blocked shots in a first-round victory over Gallaudet University, the 6-foot-3 center from Virginia Beach had eight against the Sea Gulls to go along with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
With less than six minutes remaining, Salisbury lost its top inside player when Meghan Klug crashed into Hickey on a drive to the basket, picking up her fifth foul.
"I'm average at taking charges. But I knew we had to play physical and play smart and not pick up my fourth foul," Hickey said. "But I just couldn't let her have an open lane to the basket: just slide your feet and get the position."
Trailing by 12 points with 9:48 left in the first half, Salisbury closed to within 42-40, then had its momentum halted when Amanda Bates drilled a 3-pointer from 20 feet as time expired.
"I was trying to set the screen for Kaitie [Clarkin] so she could get the open 3," Bates said of her clutch basket. "I heard somebody yell 'Shoot it' and the ball happened to be in my hands and saw there were two seconds left and I let it go."
Klug's 3-pointer at the 17:49 cut the Eagles' lead to one point, but the ninth-ranked team in the country responded with a 15-1 run over the next 4 minutes to take control of the game.
"Salisbury is very aggressive and scrappy," UMW coach Deena Applebury said. "Fortunately, in the second half, we were able to come out and begin to dominate the game, we took control and finished them off."
Salisbury managed just six offensive rebounds and was held to 27 percent shooting in the second half.
By contrast, the Eagles shot 50 percent in the second half and placed four players in double figures, led by Debbie Bruen's 19.
Leigh Kampman, a junior forward from Oakton, was a key contributor in the victory, totaling 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Kampman shone at the defensive end as well, being primarily responsible for limiting the Gulls' Jessica Mills to one point after the senior forward totaled 18 in the first half.
The Eagles' bench gave the home team a lift as well, outscoring their counterparts 19-8. Freshman Brooke Davis scored nine points and Clarkin gave the Eagles a spark, finishing with six points, a team-high five assists and one of the team's 11 blocked shots.
"Our persistence on offense and defense wore them down so it created open shots for each other," Bates said. "Our chemistry is right where it should be going into the tournament. I think we look good as a team right now."
Scoring
Salisbury (15-11): Jessica Mills 18, Meghan Klug 7, Meghan Phillips 14, Lindsay Martin 4, Jenna Peters 7, Catherine Mills 0, Kylie Hall 0, Brianna Simpson 0, Janay Johnson 4, Shaniece Roseborough 0, Marissa Monzo 0, Rachel Downes 0, Katie MacFarland 4. Totals: 19 16-19 58.
Mary Washington (25-2): Debbie Bruen 19, Leigh Kampman 11, Liz Hickey 16, Amanda Bates 10, Lisa Tracy 4, Kaitlin Sharp 0, Kaitie Clarkin 6, Brooke Davies 9, Ashley Reed 0, Ashton Mitchell 4, Erica Lowe 0. Totals: 31 12-19 79.
Halftime score: UMW, 37-32. Three-point goals: Salisbury 4 (Phillips 2, Mills, Klug), UMW 5 (Bates 2, Clarkin 2, Davies). Rebounding leaders: Salisbury 37 (Mills 7), UMW 44 (Hickey 10, Kampman 8).
Catholic 69, umw men 67The Eagles gave second-seeded Catholic a major fright before falling to a trio of free throws in the final minute of play.
Falling behind early, UMW went on a 17-2 run over the last 7 minutes to take a three-pont halftime lead.
The Cardinals prevailed by cashing in on 25-of-40 free throw attempts.
Patrick Dwyer paced the winners with 20 points. Justin Baker led the Eagles with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Scoring
Mary Washington (16-10): Kiernan Whitworth 4, Jon Pierce 13, A.J. Fitzgerald 7, Mike Lee 5, Justin Baker 20, Matt Hale 12, Billy Mitchell 4, Eric Pearson 0, Ben Stokes 0, Ben Oliven 2.Totals: 25 9-14 67.
Catholic (21-5): Scott Fumai 15, Patrick Dwyer 20, Stephen Wheeler 16, Mike Wasilenko 0, Steven Pagageorge 5, Sean Stozenthaler 5, Jeff Sparrow 0, Nick Olivero 8, Matt Fazzini 0, Danny Quinn 0. Totals: 19 25-40 79.
Halftime score: UMW, 32-29. Three-point goals: UMW 8 (Hale 3, Baker 2, Pierce, Fitzgerald, Lee) Catholic 6 (Fumai 2, Dwyer, Papageorge, Stolzenthaler, Olivero). Rebounding leaders: UMW 32 (Baker 14), Catholic 50 (Dwyer 13, Wheeler 11).
Kurt Nicoll: 540/374-5441
Email: knicoll@freelancestar.com
