Zamolyi’s Career-high Leads Misericordia into Quarterfinals
John Edwards
TOURNAMENT PAGE
By John Edwards
DALLAS, Pa. - A career high 26 points from Quintessa Zamolyi (Bethlehem, Pa. / Bethlehem Catholic) led the Misericordia University Cougars to a 71-61 victory over the Mount Saint Mary College Knights in the first round of the ECAC Division III Women's Basketball Championship at the Anderson Center, Wednesday. The 6-0 freshman hit six 3-pointers, just shy of the school record, and was 8-for-11 from the field overall as she sent the Cougars to their second straight berth in the ECAC quarterfinals.
Misericordia (17-10), who never trailed in the contest, was helped by a double-double from Rachel Carmody (Waymart, Pa. / Western Wayne), as the junior forward collected 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Mount Saint Mary (21-7), the Skyline conference finalists, were led by junior center Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y. / West Hempstead), who had 15 points and eight rebounds. Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J. / Hackensack) and Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y. / Seaford) each collected 12 points for the Knights, who end the year with their first 20-win season since 2012, highlighted by a 15-game winning streak that was snapped last Saturday.
The Knights, who came into the game as the top seed in the #2 pod, outrebounded Misericordia 48-34, including 19 offensive rebounds, but were hampered by their 24 turnovers in the game.
The Cougars got out to a quick 9-2 lead, as Zamolyi hit the first two of her six three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the game. The Knights responded with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the game at 11-11 with 4:00 left in the first quarter. However, a layup by Carmody put the Cougars up for good at 13-11, and they led 17-13 after 10 minutes.
Misericordia broke the game open in the second quarter with a 16-2 run over five minutes, as they took a 34-19 lead with a minute to go in the half. Another Zamolyi triple kicked off the run, which also saw Carmody pick up five of her points. The Knights clawed back three points before halftime, as the Cougars took a 34-22 lead into the intermission.
Zamolyi strike twice from long range in the opening minute of the second half to give Misericordia their largest lead of the night, 40-22. However, the Knights did not go away. They went on a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 45-39 with a minute to go in the period, led by seven points from Cleare. A late free throw gave Misericordia a 46-39 edge after 30 minutes.
A free-throw from Cleare with 7:01 to play made it a one-score game, at 50-47, for the first time since early in the second quarter, but Mount St. Mary could not draw any closer. A trey from Hellpap put the Knights back within reach at 57-53, but the Cougars drained 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
With the win, the Cougars advance to the quarterfinals of the ECAC Division III Women's Basketball Championship, where they will Lebanon Valley College, who defeated Grove City College 73-62 tonight. The quarterfinal is set for Friday at 2 p.m. at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.
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