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PIONEERS NCAA RUN ENDS WITH LOSS TO GETTYSBURG
03/06/10
UTICA COLLEGE SPORTS UPDATE
GIL BURGMASTER
 The Utica College women's basketball season came to a close Saturday night after a 71-55 loss to Gettysburg in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Moravian College. The Pioneers, who advanced to the second round after a dramatic come from behind victory over host Moravian Friday night, closed out their season having tied the school-record with 22 victories.
Junior forward Jessica Berry netted 20 points, while sophomore guard Katie McGee added 11 points to pace the Pioneers.
( MHTS FILE PHOTO-JEFF PEXTON)
With the exception of two ties in the first two minutes of the contest Gettysburg led the entire way courtesy of a 52.1% shooting performance from the floor and an incredible 69.2% (9-for-13) effort from 3-point land. Courtney Fields and Julie McGrory combined for 46 points and shot 9-of-12 from behind the arc.
After Gettysburg jumped out to a double digit lead midway through the first half Utica responded with a 3-point bucket from senior forward Jessica Snyder to cut the deficit to a manageable eight points, 25-17, with just under seven minutes to go in the half. The Bullets used a 17-6 run in the final 6:54 of the first half to take a commanding 42-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
( MHTS FILE PHOTO-JEFF PEXTON)
Gettysburg did not let down in the second half and made its first five shots out of the locker room, three of which were 3-pointers, to take a 25 point lead with 14:04 to go in regulation.
 UC was able to cut that lead to 17 points after Danielle Busansky hit a 3-pointer with 7:55 to go – but the Bullets answered right back with a 9-1 run and extended their lead back to 25 points just over two minutes later.
Junior guard Devon Croll scored eight points, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds for Utica, while Busansky and freshman forward Meghan Fiore combined for 13 points off the bench.
Fields led the way for the Bullets with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Sara Kinsley added 16 points and four blocks off the bench for Gettysburg.
Headed into the contest the Pioneers had won four straight contests including the Empire 8 Conference Championship over Ithaca College last weekend.
BOX SCORE
The Pioneers have now won the conference championship twice in the last three seasons – earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament each year. Utica had not advanced to the second round of the NCAA’s since 1984 and it was just the fourth time in program-history the Pioneers had earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The lead changed hands five times in the final three minutes - with the final exchange finding the Utica College women’s basketball team ahead - as the Pioneers defeated host and nationally-ranked No. 8 Moravian College 64-61 at Johnston Hall on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Pioneers (22-6) battled back from a 15 point second half deficit and outscored the Greyhounds 33-15 in the final 13:50 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984.
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Utica, which has now tied a school-record with 22 wins, snapped Moravian’s 20 game-winning streak and advanced its own win streak to four. Utica will take on Gettysburg Saturday night at 7 p.m. in second round action at Johnston Hall. Gettysburg earned a right to play in the second round after a convincing 68-57 victory over Farmingdale State College in the early game.
( MHTS FILE PHOTO-JEFF PEXTON)
“What a great win for our girls and our program,” said Head Coach Michele Davis. “We are an emotional team and we turned it on at the right time tonight.
Baskets began to fall for us in the second half and as always we pride ourselves on great defensive play. We are a very composed team - and these girls have been there before just two years ago, so battling back from 15 points really didn’t surprise me too much.”
Junior forward Jessica Berry (Rome, N.Y.), who was recently named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year, scored a game-high 22 points and snagged 13 rebounds, while classmate Devon Croll (Verona, N.Y.) added 11 points and seven rebounds.
After the first eight minutes of the contest the score was knotted at 8-8 before the Greyhounds went on a 7-2 run in a span of two minutes to take a 15-10 lead halfway through the first half of play.
BOX SCORE
( MHTS FILE PHOTO-JEFF PEXTON)
Moravian extended its lead to as many as eleven points, 25-14, with 6:30 to go in the first half but the Pioneers responded with a 7-2 run of its own to cut the lead back to six. The Pioneers run was sparked by four straight points from freshman forward Meghan Fiore (Epping, N.H.) and the visiting team trailed 27-21 with three minutes left in the first half.
That margin would hold for the final three minutes and the Greyhounds headed into the locker room with a 31-25 lead. Fiore, a three-time conference rookie of the week selection this season, led the way for Utica with 11 first half points and she also snagged five rebounds.
The Greyhounds, who entered the game as the sixth highest scoring offense in the nation (77.9 points per game) opened the second half on an 11-5 run and took an 11 point advantage, 42-31, with 15:03 to go in regulation.
After falling behind by as many as 15 points with just under 14 minutes to go the Pioneers retaliated with an 11-3 run to cut the Greyhound lead to seven, 49-42, after freshman Danielle Busansky (Millersville, Pa.) drilled a 3-pointer at the 10:10 mark.
Croll converted on a lay-up at the 6:30 mark to cut the Moravian lead to just four points, 52-48. Croll responded again 1:15 later when she knocked down a key 3-point bucket to pull the Pioneers within two points, 55-53, with 5:14 to go in regulation.
( MHTS FILE PHOTO-JEFF PEXTON)
Utica took its first lead of the entire contest, 58-57, after Busanky knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner at the 3:30 mark.
Five lead changes ensued with the Pioneers taking the lead for good after Berry knocked down a baseline jumper with 2:37 to go. Both teams were held scoreless for the next 2:27 until sophomore guard Katie McGee secured the victory with two free throws with ten seconds to go.
Four players scored in double figures for Moravian including Kate Harrison (14), Kirsty Stearns (13), Jessica Foran (10) and Amanda Brown (10).
The Pioneers, making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, earned a right to play in the post season after a dramatic 38-37 victory over top-seeded Ithaca College in the Empire 8 Conference Championships last weekend.
Moravian, riding the highs of a 20 game winning-streak, entered the contest by way of a 13 point victory over the University of Scranton in the Landmark Conference Championship. The Greyhounds season comes to a close with a 25-3 overall record.
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