GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Cavaliers erased a nine point third quarter deficit and pulled to within one point twice in the final minute, but in the end, the Cabrini women's basketball team suffered a 55-53 loss at Gwynedd Mercy University.
The loss snapped the Blue and White's five game win streak and sent the Cavaliers to 13-9 overall and 10-3 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference.
Despite the loss, Cabrini remains in the third spot in the CSAC rankings with just three league games to play, as it owns the tiebreaker over Neumann, after topping the Knights 82-46 in January.
Four Cavaliers scored in double figures tonight, led by sophomore
Sabrina Hackendorn. The sophomore posted her second double-double of the campaign, pairing 12 points and 14 rebounds, matching a career high.
Seniors
Meghan Martin,
Dana Peterson and
Mo O'Connell added 10 points each. Peterson added four rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots to her stat line, while Martin and O'Connell secured five boards each.
The Blue and White controlled the lane, outrebounding the Griffins 49-26, with 21 boards coming on the offensive glass, leading to 17 second change points. Cabrini also notched 30 of its 53 points inside the lane, while holding GMercyU to just 16 paint points.
Both teams played a tight opening quarter, as the score was tied at 2-2, 4-4 and 8-8. The Griffins broke the 8-8 deadlock with back to back three pointers to build a 14-8 lead. Hackendorn's lay-up marked Cabrini's only bucket in the final 5:14 of the period, cutting GMercyU's lead to 14-10 after 10 minutes.
The defenses controlled the second quarter, as the teams combined for just 12 points in the period. The Cavaliers scored the first four points of the stanza, evening the score at 14, before losing their collective scoring touch. The Blue and White went scoreless over the final 5:53 of the half. The Griffins took advantage, scoring the final eight points of the half to build a 22-14 halftime lead.
The Blue and White shot just .188 from the field in the opening half, including just 2-14 in the second half. Cabrini's defense kept the game close, as GMercyU managed just 8-24 from the floor.
A pair of Hackendorn lay-ups opened the third quarter, pulling Cabrini to within 22-18. The Griffins pushed their lead back to eight points, as the Griffins' cushion ranged between 5-8 points for much of the quarter.
GMercyU extended its lead to a game high 35-26 with 90 seconds to play in the third. Hackendorn found freshman
Gaby Jones in the final seconds to send the game to the final period with Cabrini trailing 37-32.
O'Connell's jumper pull the Cavaliers to within 41-40 at the 7:28 mark, but the Griffins responded with a 7-1 spurt to regain its seven point cushion. A pair of GMercyU free throws gave the Griffins a 50-44 lead with 3:18 to play, when Cabrini began its furious comeback.
The Blue and White hit 5-6 from the free throw line over the next 60 seconds before senior
Kristina Startare pulled the Cavaliers to within 52-51 with 60 seconds to play. Following a Griffins' jumper, Hackendorn converted an offensive board into a bucket, keeping the deficit at 54-53 with 29 seconds on the clock.
GMercyU split a pair of free throws at the 27 second mark, extending its lead to 55-53. Cabrini had four shots at the tying basket in the final seconds but misfired on each.
After struggling from the field in the first half, the Cavaliers connected on nearly .400 after the break, including its only two three pointers of the night. While Cabrini held the Griffins to less than .280 second half shooting, GMercyU connected on 15-18 from the free throw line in the third and fourth quarters.
Olivia Bradford led the Griffins (18-4, 12-1 CSAC) with 17 points, while Nicole Dombrowski paired 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Cavaliers will return to Nerney Field House on Saturday, as they host Rosemont College (12-10, 8-5 CSAC). Game time is slated for 1 p.m.
