Mariners Rebound To Outlast Moravian

KINGS POINT, N.Y. - The United States Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team continued its historic 2007-08 campaign by defeating Moravian College, 58-57, on Saturday afternoon. The Greyhounds had the opportunity to go for the last shot to win the game, but Amanda Brown's short jumper was blocked by Morgan Gartner. Following two free throws, Stephanie Waller intercepted Moravian's inbounds pass with 4.6 seconds on the clock and held onto the ball until time expired to seal the Mariner victory and knock the Greyhounds out of first place.

USMMA improved to 11-6 overall, 3-4 in Landmark Conference action. Furthermore, the team's overall record matches the best start in program history which was set back in 2006. Moravian dropped to 12-6 overall, 5-2 in Landmark Conference play.

"I think we came out very strong," said Gartner, the team captain, after the game. "It was definitely a defensive game for us. Offensively, we weren't really on today, but the defense really picked us up."

"I wasn't going to let her get that shot off. I was in help (defense) and was lucky to be there when I was."

"We are (a) very confident team. We just have to come out strong for the first game and the second game. If can do that both games, we know that we are going to win."

Kristen Hetsko led the Mariners in scoring with 12 points. Gartner finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds, and a career-best five blocked shots. Waller ended the contest with 10 points, a team-best four assists and three steals. Kiersten Healy contributed eight points and a career-best nine rebounds while Rebecca Grimes matched a career mark for blocking two shots.

USMMA ended the game with nine blocks, which was the most the team has had in a single game since swatting away 10 balls back on Feb. 20, 2007 against Mount St. Vincent in the Skyline Conference Tournament. Four players recorded at least one blocked shot.

Moravian had four players score in double figures. Kate Harrison led the way with 14 points. Jessica Foran added 12 points. Kirsty Stearns just missed a double-double (10 points and nine rebounds) and Amanda Brown scored 11 points off the bench.

The first half featured three ties and nine lead changes. Harrison scored the game's initial basket on the Greyhounds first possession. The Mariners responded by scoring the next six points courtesy of layups by Janay Weathers and Gartner followed by a jumper by Hetsko. Moravian then responded with a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 advantage with 13:28 on the clock. Harrison's jumper sparked five straight shots between the teams which resulted in lead changes.

Moravian's last lead of the game came when Stearns hit a jumper to make it 14-13 in favor of the Greyhounds with 10:46 left to play in the half. Kaitlin Mulgrew followed up with a three-point field goal from the left corner off a feed from Brooke Picillo 22 seconds later to give the Mariners a 16-14 lead. After Harrison hit a jumper to tie at the game at 16-16, USMMA went on a 6-0 run and would never relinquish its lead the rest of the way.

USMMA took its largest lead of the game in the final minute of the half when Healy's jumper off a feed from Waller made it 32-22. The Greyhounds' Foran scored four straight points, but the Mariners still took a 32-26 lead into the break.

Harrison hit two jumpers to begin the second stanza which closed the Mariner lead to 32-30. Hetsko extended the lead to five points when she hit a three-pointer with 18:33 on the clock. Moravian came within a point on two occasions before the midway point of the second half, but USMMA would not surrender its lead. The Mariners extended their lead to as many as nine points on three occasions in the final 10 minutes of regulation, but Moravian would not go away without a fight.

The Greyhounds pulled to within four points when Brown hit another three-pointer with 3:32 to make it 55-51. Healy hit a jumper with 3:06 remaining and Picillo converted a free throw with 2:12 on the clock to give the Mariners a 58-51 advantage.

However, Moravian did not go away. Alyssa Bisci hit a jumper with 1:59 remaining to close the Mariner lead on 58-53. Foran hit two free throws to make it a one possession game with 1:36 left. Following a missed jumper by Bisci, Harrison grabbed the offensive rebound and put the ball through the hoop with 53.2 seconds remaining to close the gap to one point, 58-57. Following a Moravian timeout, Sterns stole the ball on the Mariners' next possession and the Greyhounds called a timeout.

Moravian had the ball with 17 seconds remaining and a chance to go for the last shot and win the ballgame. Amanda Brown drove to the hoop down the right side, but her short jumper was batted away by Gartner who recorded a career high with her fifth block of the contest. Waller got the rebound and was fouled by Foran with 4.6 seconds left.

The junior went to the free throw line with the chance to extend the Mariner lead. Unfortunately, both of her shots missed. Due to a lane violation, Moravian got the ball out of bounds on the baseline with one more chance to win the game with 4.6 seconds left on the clock. The inbounds pass was intercepted by Waller in the backcourt, and she held onto the ball until the final horn sounded.

With the victory, the Mariners surpassed their win total from a year ago and also improved to a perfect 10-0 when leading at halftime. Midway through the league schedule, USMMA stands tied for fourth place with Susquehanna and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Crusaders. The top four teams advance to the Landmark Conference Tournament which begins on Feb. 27 at the sites of the two higher seeds.

The women's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night when Coast Guard visits the James Liebertz Gymnasium. The Mariners beat the Bears for the first time ever the last time the programs met in Kings Point two seasons ago. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.