Stevenson Charges into Quarterfinals
Ryan Simmons
TOURNAMENT PAGE
By Ryan Simmons
OWINGS MILLS, MD. – The Stevenson Mustangs used a strong opening quarter to pull away from the Rutgers-Camden Raptors and advance in the ECAC DIII Women’s Basketball Championship with a 68-51 victory on Feb. 28.
Both teams battled back-and-forth in the early going. Gabby Greene’s second trey of the quarter put Rutgers-Camden ahead by three with 4:39 to play in the frame. It proved to be the last lead of the night for the Raptors.
Stevenson put together an impressive 14-0 run keyed by Denia Campbell’s two 3-pointers to take an 11-point advantage before Michelle Obasi got the Raptors back on the board with a pair of free throws with only 16 seconds remaining in the quarter.
When the dust settled, the Mustangs held a 22-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
The Mustangs would push the lead out to as many as 17 points in the second quarter following a Hannah Crist layup, but the Raptors weren’t finished quite yet.
Rutgers-Camden went on a 7-0 run capped by a Kirsten Flournoy jumper to cut the lead to 32-21. Both teams traded shots before the Raptors eventually cut the lead to 9 points on a Cara Racobaldo bucket. The Mustangs, however, would close out the first half with the final three points of the frame and take a 37-25 lead to the locker room.
The teams played to a virtual draw in the third quarter with Rutgers-Camden winning its only frame of the night, outscoring the home squad 13-12.
Crist hit a big three-point shot to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving Stevenson a 52-38 lead with 8:47 to play.
The Raptors continued to battle throughout the fourth quarter. Another Greene trey cut the lead to 59-51 with only 2:42 left in the contest, but the basket was the last of the night for Rutgers-Camden. The Mustangs tallied the final nine points of the game to put the game away.
Crist led Stevenson with 16 points on the night behind a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc. Jonyae Curry added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Mustangs.
Rutgers-Camden’s Greene led all scorers with 19 points.
The win sends Stevenson into the quarterfinals against Springfield College on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. The contest will be held in Washington, Pa., on the campus of Washington and Jefferson College.
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