Rosemont, PA – It was Senior Night in Alumnae Hall. After saluting Rosemont's four seniors (Liz Coyne, Nymira Nelson, Dominique Sellers, and Kierra Smith) the teams got down to business.
The Rosemont Ravens women's basketball team (13-12, 9-7 CSAC) weren't only facing the Neumann Knights (11-14, 8-8 CSAC) this evening. The Ravens had to also look at Centenary tonight, and the Rosemont 67-66 win coupled with Centenary's loss at Immaculata, 79-40, left the Ravens all alone in their goal of earning the 6th and final spot in the CSAC Championship Tournament.
Neumann came out shooting well, and led by single-digits in the first half until two free throws from the Knight's Emily Lyons put the visitors in front 29-19 with 6:37 left in the half. The Ravens would mount a comeback, scoring the next five points to trail 29-24 with 5:45 left. The Ravens would keep clawing away at the deficit. Trailing 33-25 with 4 ½ minutes left, the Ravens went on a 13-0 run to grasp their first lead of the game, and led by five points, 38-33 with 1:38 left in the period. Neumann was not about to give up, scoring the last five points in the frame to knot the score at 38-38 as the teams broke for the half.
The teams would stay within five points of each other until Neumann started to get some separation when the Knights led the game 58-50 with 10:21 left. With the Ravens trailing the Knights 62-57 with 5:07 on the scoreboard Rosemont again made an attempt to get their noses in front. They managed to do so, but it wasn't accomplished quickly. A free throw from Kierra Smith and a Liz Coyne putback would get the Ravens back to within 62-60 with 3:44 left. The Ravens would get to within one point several times, when trailing 66-65 with 1:56 left, two free throws from Carly Hislop moved the Ravens in front 67-66 with 1:32 left.
The Knights had four possessions and the Ravens had three down the stretch, but neither team was able to put the ball through the hoop in those last 92 seconds as the Ravens held on, weathering a last-second three-point attempt from Neumann's Sarah Roberts as the buzzer sounded to end the contest.
Rosemont's seniors accounted well for themselves tonight, with all four scoring in double-figures and three of them earning double-doubles. Liz Coyne scored 20 with 18 rebounds, her 17th double-double for the season. Nymira Nelson scored 13 and had 11 rebounds for a double-double, while Kierra Smith scored 11 with 13 rebounds for a double-double. Dominique Sellers tallied 13 for the Ravens.
Neumann's Jessica Schesman scored 17 to lead the Knights. JoHanna Metzger scored 15 with 10 boards for a double-double. Emily Lyons and Lauren Legler each scored 12.
The #6 Ravens will play in the CSAC Quarterfinal round on Monday, 2/23 at 7:00pm at the #3 seed (Marywood University or Gwynedd Mercy).
