ARLINGTON, Va. –The Cabrini University women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker 53-49 to Marymount University Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic East Conference championship game inside Converse Family Fieldhouse.
 
The first quarter of the contest proved that defense was going to win the 2023 AEC title as the game was scoreless through the first 2:20. Miranda Liebtag broke the scoreless tie as she knocked down one of two free throws at the 7:40 mark. With 4:05 left in the quarter, Marymount held a 7-1 lead after a Symantha Shackelford trey and by the end of the first, only 14 total points were scored as the Saints led 9-5. The Cavaliers (14-14) came to life in the second quarter as Cabrini outscored MU 13-9 and the two squads headed into the break knotted at 18 apiece. 
 
Out of the break, the Saints (23-4) used a 12-5 run over the first seven minutes to take a 30-23 lead, their largest up to that point. With 3:15 left in the quarter, Nicole Villalta-Barrantes knocked down two from the charity stripe and started a 6-0 run for the Cavs to put Cabrini within one, 30-29, with 2:04 remaining. MU's Claire Smith ended the third with a free throw, beginning a 9-0 run to put the Saints up 40-29 with 6:43 left in regulation. The Cavs continued to battle as the clock ticked closer to zero and with seven seconds remaining, Liebtag put one off the glass, drew a foul and sank the free throw to complete the 3-point play to make it a two-point deficit. This was the closest Cabrini would come as the final buzzer sounded, ending the Cavaliers season. 
 
Giana Rullo set a new career-high in points as the sophomore tallied 19 on the day, leading all Cavs scorers. Liebtag added 14 of her own with seven boards. 
 
Cabrini finished the year with a 14-14 overall record and matched their Atlantic East record from a year ago at 8-4.