Mount St. Mary’s makes NEC final
EMMITSBURG — Rebecca Lee would not let the Mount St. Mary’s women’s basketball team fall short of their objective.
Lee, a senior center, scored 17 of her teamhigh 19 points in the final three quarters to power the top-seeded Mountaineers to a 77-62 victory over No. 4 seed Fairleigh Dickinson at Knott Arena in a Northeast Conference tournament semifinal Wednesday night.
With the win, Mount St. Mary’s improved to 17-7 and earned its first appearance in the league’s tournament final since 2001 and eighth overall. The team will meet No. 2 seed Wagner (13-5), which defeated No. 3 seed Saint Francis (Pa.), 70-57, in the other semifinal and will play in its first title game since 2000.
Redshirt sophomore shooting guard Aryna Taylor scored all 17 of her points in the last three quarters, but even she gave credit to Lee for kick-starting the team from a 23-13 deficit after the first 10 minutes of the game.
“We had to find a spark, and it was Becks,” said Taylor, who added seven rebounds. “Becks had two crucial buckets for us and an and-one, and that just led to the momentum shift for us. We knew right then and three that the game was not done and we knew what we wanted to do.”
Lee, a Severn resident and Old Mill graduate, recorded her fourth double-double of the season when she chipped in a game-best 13 rebounds. Ten of those boards occurred on the offensive glass, which the Mountaineers converted into a 25-7 advantage in second-chance points.
“If I’m doing something well, I’m just going to stick to it,” she said. “I don’t get nervous. It’s not the time to get nervous. It’s not time to choke. Whether it’s March or May, you’ve got to play basketball as you do.”
Coach Maria Marchesano pointed out that Lee also contributed two blocks, two assists and one steal.
“Rebecca Lee was an absolute monster for us tonight,” she said. “The thing about Becks is, down the stretch here towards the end of the season, she has just not wavered. If she misses her first couple shots, she’s still going to be aggressive. She’s been a monster on the board. Her stat line tonight is ridiculous.”
Mount St. Mary’s had to overcome a valiant effort from a Knights team that ruled out seven players, including three starters in sophomore forward Maria Roters, junior shooting guard Lindsey Mack and junior point guard Madeline Selvaggi, head coach Angelika Szumilo, and her top two assistant coaches prior to the game due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
Graduate student shooting guard Elise
Graham, sophomore forward Sierra DeAngelo and freshman point guard Taylor Crystian were inserted into the starting lineup, and assistant coach Lauren Holden ran the team in Szumilo’s place. Holden said the seven players and three coaches had made the trip to Mount St. Mary’s, but remained back at the team’s hotel.
“I think it was a last-minute adjustment that we had to make,” Holden said. “I don’t think any of us were really ready for that. but I think that we grew from this experience. It’s not something that’s ever easy, but I can honestly say that all of us grew from this.”
If the Mountaineers defeat Wagner on Sunday, they will join the men’s team in the NCAA tournament after the latter upset Bryant in Tuesday’s title game.
Men
Loyola Maryland 67, Army 63: Santi Aldama scored a career-high 33 points as ninth-seeded Loyola Maryland held off fourth-seeded Army, 67-63, in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament.
The Greyhounds advance to the Patriot League championship game for the first time, where they will face No. 2 seed Colgate (13-1), a 105-75 winner over Bucknell. Aldama shot 13-for-15 from the field — a Patriot League record for made shots in a semifinal game