ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose rallied from a 12 point deficit with seven minutes remaining in regulation to upend visiting Northeast-10 Conference rival Merrimack 77-73 in a thriller tonight at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights (12-4/8-4 NE-10) trailed for all but the opening 15 seconds, but knocked down a trio of 3-pointers throughout the final 2:46 of the second period and then outscored the Warriors (7-8/5-6 NE-10) 10-6 during the extra session to post their eighth victory in the last 10 games.
In the process, Saint Rose avenged last year's 77-70 first-round NE-10 Tournament setback on the same floor that brought an abrupt end to a season in which the Golden Knights went 14-8 in league play.
History did not repeat itself tonight though thanks to junior guard
Ola Shajuyigbe. Shajuyigbe banked a 3-pointer from the left wing with nine seconds left in regulation that tied the game, 67-67, for the first time since the midway point of the first half and eventually forced overtime.
Saint Rose actually nearly ended it at that juncture when senior guard
Lynsey Timbrouck came up with a steal at midcourt on Merrimack's ensuing possession. However, a jumper by junior guard
Ashley Rath at the buzzer was blocked by senior forward Sarah Benischek to keep the tie intact.
Merrimack initially regained control in overtime with a 5-1 spurt that afforded the Warriors a 73-68 advantage with 3:19 showing on the clock. It ultimately proved to be the last run of the evening for Merrimack as Saint Rose went to work on the offensive end.
Junior forward
Ali Johnson finished inside, Shajuyigbe hit a pair of free throws and Rath drained a jumper. The latter put the Golden Knights ahead to stay, 74-73, with 57 seconds left. Timbrouck then sealed it by draining three free throws during the final 25 seconds.
Shajuyigbe finished with 22 points and tied her career-high of eight rebounds to pace Saint Rose. Senior forward
Amy Voelkel filled the box score to the tune of nine points and nine boards to move into 14th place (658) alone among the school's all-time rebounding leaders. She also tied her season-high with five assists. Furthermore, Rath tossed in 10 of her 15 points after halftime and also passed around four assists. Junior forward
Alison McGrath added 11 points in just 13 minutes off the bench.
On the other end, junior guard Gennifer Roy led four Merrimack players in double-figures with 18 points. Sophomore forward Kelly Schatzlein finished with 15 points and eight boards, while Benischek and sophomore guard Ruchel Lowe scored 12 and 10 points respectively.
Looking ahead, both teams have conference games scheduled for Saturday. The Golden Knights have a 2:00 pm meeting at UMass Lowell, while the Warriors have a 1:00 pm home date with Pace University.
Box Score
