RADNOR, Pa. (December 17) - The Cabrini College women’s basketball team, after trailing Goucher College for most of the first half, pulled off a 70-61 victory over the visiting Gophers. An offensive surge late in the first, added by the defensive press in the second half, help proved to be vital to the Cavaliers’ victory tonight. With the win, the Cavaliers improve their record to 4-3, while the Gophers fall to 4-5.
Junior
Kayleen Smith led the Cavalier offense, scoring 14 points and assisting on defense with six rebounds and one steal. Reinforcing Smith’s attack efforts were sophomore point guard
Deana DiAmico and guard junior
Brittany McLeod, scoring 13 and 12 points respectively. McLeod would be the main force behind the Cavalier defense, contributing 10 rebounds this game and two steals.
For a majority of the first half, the Cavaliers struggled to place the ball into the net. Prior to Smith’s boost, the Cavaliers had gone 2-of-10 for shot attempts during the first eight minutes of play with sophomore
Alyssa Brady and DiAmico scoring with back-to-back three-pointers. From there on out, the Cavaliers’ offensive and defensive efforts gained a boost, with Smith scoring primarily on free throws, going 4-of-4 attempts at the line. DiAmico and Brady also contributed with their own set of free throws and the Cavaliers came out of the first half with a tight one-point lead over the Gophers.
The second half of play saw an increase in free-throw success. The Cavaliers made 9-of-10 of their free throws in the second half, backed up by their field success by making 13-of-25 shots. Goucher attempted to counter the Cavaliers’ offensive efforts while making 11-of-24 shots of their own.
Senior Shadae Swan, who ended with scoring 21 points for the Gophers.
The Cavaliers will have the next week off for Christmas, returning to action on December 29 as the Cavaliers will fly off to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to face Saint Mary’s in the Sunsational Hoops Classic.
