Trailing by a point with just seconds remaining, LIU Post freshman forward Jasmine Bailey beat the buzzer with a layup that gave the LIU Post women’s basketball team a 66-65 win over Merrimack College on Saturday, Nov. 29 in North Andover, MA.
Throughout majority of the contest, the Pioneers found themselves fighting an up-hill battle against the Merrimack Warriors, despite jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. After senior guard Chelsea Williams hit a jumper with just over 15 minutes to go in the first half, Merrimack went on a 16-0 run to grab an 18-7 advantage, with just over seven minutes to go in the half.
Later, Williams knocked down two free throws just before the half ended, and the Pioneers went into the break trailing 35-22. Williams and senior guard Ashley Castle led the way for LIU Post in the first half. Both guards scored six points apiece. Junior center Nyasia Davis recorded seven first-half rebounds. Senior guard Chloe Rothman paced the scoring for the Warriors with a team-best 13 first-half points.
In the latter stanza, the Pioneers came out shooting as they tried to chip away at the deficit. Merrimack extended their lead to 14 (50-36) after Allison Wagner hit a three with 13:16 to go in regulation, but LIU Post responded in a colossal way.
The Pioneers answered with a 22-5 run to take a 58-55 lead with just over six minutes left in the contest. Bailey led the way during the spurt, scoring seven points. Junior guard Khea Gibbs added five, while Williams netted four. Castle and junior guard Quanisha Ratley each added three points.
Both teams traded leads until Rothman gave Merrimack a 65-64 edge with just eight seconds remaining. Then, with time winding down, Castle missed a shot in the paint, but Bailey was there to gather the offensive board and sink the buzzer beater, giving the Pioneers the 66-65 win.
Castle led the Pioneers with 17 points, going 4-of-7 from three-point range. Williams added 16, while Bailey contributed nine points. Davis collected 10 rebounds and amassed six points. Rothman led all scorers with 19. Aria Johnson contributed a double-double, scoring 13 points and bringing down 10 rebounds for the Warriors.
Head basketball coach Deirdre Moore and her Pioneers squad retured to the court Sunday and fell to Assumption College, 74-59, ending the team’s three-game winning streak.
Williams led the Pioneers with a game-high 21 points and has now scored 20-plus points in four out of the team’s five games this season.
This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.
