Women's Basketball Bows Out in First Round
Kelly Owings
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Sports
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The Union women's basketball team's season did not end as they had hoped. The third-seeded Dutchwomen suffered a tough loss to second-seeded St. Lawrence in the first round of the Liberty League tournament. Even with the loss, however, Union certainly did not go down without a fight.
Union had seen St. Lawrence twice before this past weekend and each match-up, one win and one loss, was an intense battle for both of the defensively ranked teams. The defensive intensity showed in Friday's game as the total score at halftime was only 23-17 with the Saints in the lead. While Union did take the rebounding advantage for the game at 45-29, the Dutchwomen were as cold as ice from the three-point range, hitting 1-12 shots. Without much range, Union depended on its inside game and while this kept the match close for most of the time , the Dutchwomen could not perform at the free-throw line either, hitting just under 50% for the game. St. Lawrence's forward Andrea Muszynski, on the other hand, had no problem sinking her foul shots, making eight of her nine shots from the line. Muzkynski's performance was not just stellar at the free-throw line either. The Liberty League first team all-star had 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks to lead St. Lawrence to victory. Even with Muzkynski's outstanding play, Union kept the game a tight match. Senior Erika Eisenhut, who was recently named the Liberty League Player of the Year, scored a total of 17 points, had four assists, and three steals. Junior Krystal Hammond, a second-team all-star for the Liberty League this year, combined with sophomore Devon to overwhelm the Saints on the boards. Hammond had 14 rebounds, while Ciliberto had 13.
With only about 12 minutes left in the second half, Union was finally able to pull within one basket of St. Lawrence, but the Saints, led by Muzkynski, quickly went on an 11-2 run to put Union's comeback at a standstill. Always fighting until the end, however, the scrappy Union team overcame their ten point deficit to bring the score to 48-45 with just under three minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for the Dutchwomen, the second comeback was not meant to be either and Muzkynski finalized the Saint's win with two foul shots in the remaining seconds of the game. St. Lawrence won the match with a final score of 52-47.
The loss has not dampened the team's spirits for long though, as Union will host SUNY Brockport in a quarterfinal game of the ECAC's. Union enters the tournament as the number two seed, while Brockport is the number seven seed. Top seeded Oneonta plays the number eight seed, Keuka. ECAC semi-final will be held this Friday and the winners of that game will move on to the championship game on Saturday. The location of the semi-final and finals will depend on the winners of the semifinal match-ups.
Union had seen St. Lawrence twice before this past weekend and each match-up, one win and one loss, was an intense battle for both of the defensively ranked teams. The defensive intensity showed in Friday's game as the total score at halftime was only 23-17 with the Saints in the lead. While Union did take the rebounding advantage for the game at 45-29, the Dutchwomen were as cold as ice from the three-point range, hitting 1-12 shots. Without much range, Union depended on its inside game and while this kept the match close for most of the time , the Dutchwomen could not perform at the free-throw line either, hitting just under 50% for the game. St. Lawrence's forward Andrea Muszynski, on the other hand, had no problem sinking her foul shots, making eight of her nine shots from the line. Muzkynski's performance was not just stellar at the free-throw line either. The Liberty League first team all-star had 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks to lead St. Lawrence to victory. Even with Muzkynski's outstanding play, Union kept the game a tight match. Senior Erika Eisenhut, who was recently named the Liberty League Player of the Year, scored a total of 17 points, had four assists, and three steals. Junior Krystal Hammond, a second-team all-star for the Liberty League this year, combined with sophomore Devon to overwhelm the Saints on the boards. Hammond had 14 rebounds, while Ciliberto had 13.
With only about 12 minutes left in the second half, Union was finally able to pull within one basket of St. Lawrence, but the Saints, led by Muzkynski, quickly went on an 11-2 run to put Union's comeback at a standstill. Always fighting until the end, however, the scrappy Union team overcame their ten point deficit to bring the score to 48-45 with just under three minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for the Dutchwomen, the second comeback was not meant to be either and Muzkynski finalized the Saint's win with two foul shots in the remaining seconds of the game. St. Lawrence won the match with a final score of 52-47.
The loss has not dampened the team's spirits for long though, as Union will host SUNY Brockport in a quarterfinal game of the ECAC's. Union enters the tournament as the number two seed, while Brockport is the number seven seed. Top seeded Oneonta plays the number eight seed, Keuka. ECAC semi-final will be held this Friday and the winners of that game will move on to the championship game on Saturday. The location of the semi-final and finals will depend on the winners of the semifinal match-ups.