Washington, DC– The St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s basketball team (12-13) ended their 2021-’22 campaign, coming up short this evening (Feb. 25) in the United East Conference tournament semifinals against Gallaudet University (16-8). The final score was 62-55.
How It Happened
- St. Mary’s took an early lead coming out of the gate, outscoring the Bison 14-11 in the first quarter. Stephanie Howell got the scoring started early for the Seahawks, converting on her first two attempts in the paint. Rachel Manning and Cassidy Kupchinskas got involved shortly after, converting on back to back three-point attempts to give St. Mary’s the lead in the closing seconds of the quarter.
- The second quarter of play continued to be a back and forth affair, with both teams knocking down big shots. The Seahawks managed to have a balanced offensive attack, with five different players knocking down shots. Karon Williams provided the biggest spark of the quarter, hitting a big three-pointer to trim the deficit to one with seconds remaining in the half. Williams paced the Seahawks with nine points in the first two quarters of play. Gallaudet led St. Mary’s 29-28 going into the locker room.
- Coming out ot the halftime break, Gallaudet went on two runs that were extinguished by clutch three-pointers from Cassidy Kupchinskas. Kupchinskas shot just shy of 40% from behind the arc on the day. Amira Whitaker picked up where Cassidy Kupchinskas left off, cashing in on back to back three-pointers to bring the game back to even. The Seahawks were able to bring the game back to a tie several times in the quarter, but were never able to recapture the lead. The Bison led after three, 44-43.
- Stephanie Howell was able to give the Seahawks back to lead in the opening seconds, connecting on a clutch jump shot. Seconds later, Rachel Manning converted on a three-point attempt that gave St. Mary’s a two point lead. Despite the fast start to the quarter, Gallaudet started to control the momentum and went on a 6-0 run in the final minutes. St. Mary’s was unable to overcome and fell 62-55 to close out their season.
Inside the Box Score
- Karon Williams led the Seahawks in points with 16, while also husting for five rebounds.
- Cassidy Kupchinskas and Amira Whitaker both had strong performances from behind the arc and finished with 11 points each.
- Stephanie Howell had a team high 13 rebounds while also chipping in eight points