Feb 23, 2008

Mariners Down Drew To Clinch Final Postseason Berth

MADISON, N.J. - Brooke Picillo set a school record for steals in a season to help lead the United States Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team to a convincing 72-49 win at Drew University on Saturday evening. With the victory, the Mariners clinched the fourth seed in next week's Landmark Conference Tournament and also matched a program record for winning their 15th game of the season. Picillo had five picks in the game and has 81 to date this winter.

USMMA improved to 15-10 overall and finished 7-7 in Landmark Conference action. Drew University concluded its season 6-19 overall and finished 4-10 in Landmark Conference play.

"It was a great win," said Head Coach Mike Murray. "We're excited to still be playing. The girls did a great job defensively and executing our defensive game plan. They did a great job playing together. It was a good team win."

After recording five steals in the game, Picillo broke Llexandra Landreth's single season school record of 78 picks which was set in the program's inaugural year back in 2000-01. She also tied Landreth for fifth on the career list with 130 to date. The sophomore needs just 24 more steals to break the school record held by Rebecca Segert.

"She's been doing a good job with steals all year," said Murray on the point guard. "She has been minimizing her fouls and has done a great job at anticipating. (The school record) is something she should be very proud about."

Kristen Hetsko led all scorers in the game with 18 points. She also grabbed a season-high five rebounds and drilled four three-pointers. In addition to five steals, Picillo added nine points and five assists. Stephanie Waller posted seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Hannah Eko led the Mariners off the bench and finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds. Drew was led by Allison Hartnett, who finished with 15 points, six boards and three assists. The rest of the Rangers' leading contributers all came off the bench. Ann Mularz added eight points and six rebounds while Marissa Maffei and Jessica DelVecchio contributed seven points apiece.

The Rangers shot just 28.6 percent from the field and Laura Methvin, the Rangers' top post player, was held scoreless.

The first half featured five ties and four lead changes. Drew won the jump ball, but Waller took it away from Methvin which gave USMMA the first offensive possession of the game. Janay Weathers found Morgan Gartner for a layup to put the Mariners up 2-0. Drew's Emma Grossman tied it up, but Waller set Gartner up for another layup on the Mariners' next possession to go up 4-2.

The Rangers responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 11-4 with 15:27 on the clock. USMMA rallied back to tie the game at 13-13 on a good jumper by Rebecca Grimes at the 9:11 mark. Mularz hit a free throw to briefly put the Rangers ahead, but Eko put the Mariners back up by a point, 15-14, on a jump shot at 8:36.

Drew regained the lead at 6:01 when Hartnett hit two foul shots to put her team ahead by a score of 21-19. However, the Mariners went up for good when Eko completed an old-fashioned three-point play at 5:48. USMMA's lead grew to as many as eight points before the break. Following two more free throws by Hartnett in the final minute, the teams headed to the locker rooms with the Mariners leading 31-25.

Maffei scored the opening basket of the second half to cut the lead to four points, but the Mariners responded with an 8-0 run to take a 12-point advantage at 39-27 with 15:58 left in the game. After a good jumper by Lauren Koed at 15:33, USMMA went on a 13-0 wave of a run to go up 52-29 with 11:25 left to play. Waller, Grimes and Kaitlin Mulgrew all drained three-pointers during the stretch.

USMMA extended its lead to a game-high 29 points, 68-39, with 3:49 remaining after a Hetsko three-pointer. The deficit was too much for the Rangers to overcome and the Mariners ended the game with a 72-49 victory.

"It was our best overall performance of the year," said Murray. "Everybody did a great job doing the little things. Hopefully we can carry that over into Wednesday's playoff game against Scranton."

USMMA will travel to play top-seeded Scranton on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Lady Royals are riding on a 13-game winning streak following a thrilling 92-85 win in double overtime at Moravian.

"If we can continue to play good team defense and execute our game plan, we should be alright," added Murray. "Hopefully, that will put us in a position where we will be able to end that streak."

With a victory on Wednesday evening, the Mariners will set a program record for winning their 16th game of the season and advance to the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday, Mar. 1, at the winner of the other semi-final match between second-seeded Juniata and third-seeded Moravian.


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Picillo had five picks in the game and has 81 to date this winter. USMMA improved to 15-10 overall and finished 7-7 in Landmark Conference action. Drew University concluded its season 6-19 overall and finished 4-10 in Landmark Conference play. "It was a great win," said Head Coach Mike Murray. "We're excited to still be playing. The girls did a great job defensively and executing our defensive game plan. They did a great job playing together. It was a good team win." After recording five steals in the game, Picillo broke Llexandra Landreth's single season school record of 78 picks which was set in the program's inaugural year back in 2000-01. She also tied Landreth for fifth on the career list with 130 to date. The sophomore needs just 24 more steals to break the school record held by Rebecca Segert. "She's been doing a good job with steals all year," said Murray on the point guard. "She has been minimizing her fouls and has done a great job at anticipating. (The school record) is something she should be very proud about." Kristen Hetsko led all scorers in the game with 18 points. She also grabbed a season-high five rebounds and drilled four three-pointers. In addition to five steals, Picillo added nine points and five assists. Stephanie Waller posted seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Hannah Eko led the Mariners off the bench and finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds. Drew was led by Allison Hartnett, who finished with 15 points, six boards and three assists. The rest of the Rangers' leading contributers all came off the bench. Ann Mularz added eight points and six rebounds while Marissa Maffei and Jessica DelVecchio contributed seven points apiece. The Rangers shot just 28.6 percent from the field and Laura Methvin, the Rangers' top post player, was held scoreless. The first half featured five ties and four lead changes. Drew won the jump ball, but Waller took it away from Methvin which gave USMMA the first offensive possession of the game. Janay Weathers found Morgan Gartner for a layup to put the Mariners up 2-0. Drew's Emma Grossman tied it up, but Waller set Gartner up for another layup on the Mariners' next possession to go up 4-2. The Rangers responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 11-4 with 15:27 on the clock. USMMA rallied back to tie the game at 13-13 on a good jumper by Rebecca Grimes at the 9:11 mark. Mularz hit a free throw to briefly put the Rangers ahead, but Eko put the Mariners back up by a point, 15-14, on a jump shot at 8:36. Drew regained the lead at 6:01 when Hartnett hit two foul shots to put her team ahead by a score of 21-19. However, the Mariners went up for good when Eko completed an old-fashioned three-point play at 5:48. USMMA's lead grew to as many as eight points before the break. Following two more free throws by Hartnett in the final minute, the teams headed to the locker rooms with the Mariners leading 31-25. Maffei scored the opening basket of the second half to cut the lead to four points, but the Mariners responded with an 8-0 run to take a 12-point advantage at 39-27 with 15:58 left in the game. After a good jumper by Lauren Koed at 15:33, USMMA went on a 13-0 wave of a run to go up 52-29 with 11:25 left to play. Waller, Grimes and Kaitlin Mulgrew all drained three-pointers during the stretch. USMMA extended its lead to a game-high 29 points, 68-39, with 3:49 remaining after a Hetsko three-pointer. The deficit was too much for the Rangers to overcome and the Mariners ended the game with a 72-49 victory. "It was our best overall performance of the year," said Murray. "Everybody did a great job doing the little things. Hopefully we can carry that over into Wednesday's playoff game against Scranton." USMMA will travel to play top-seeded Scranton on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Lady Royals are riding on a 13-game winning streak following a thrilling 92-85 win in double overtime at Moravian. "If we can continue to play good team defense and execute our game plan, we should be alright," added Murray. "Hopefully, that will put us in a position where we will be able to end that streak." With a victory on Wednesday evening, the Mariners will set a program record for winning their 16th game of the season and advance to the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday, Mar. 1, at the winner of the other semi-final match between second-seeded Juniata and third-seeded Moravian.
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