NEW HAVEN–Junior forward Jackie Beathea's buzzer beater layup gave Southern Connecticut State a 65-63 victory over The College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday afternoon at Moore Field House. The win for the Owls (14-13/ 11-8 NE-10) assured their place in the NE-10 Championship Tournament, while the loss for Saint Rose (7-13/11-15 NE-10), along with American International's victory versus Le Moyne earlier this afternoon, put the Golden Knights out of postseason contention.
Leading by nine at the half, Southern Connecticut kept Saint Rose at an arm's length throughout the first six and a half minutes of the second period. The Golden Knights then went on to lay down a 13-5 run to get within two with 9:58 remaining. Both teams battled as the score tied four times to follow, the final with just nine seconds left with possession to the Owls.
Southern Connecticut inbounded the ball successfully, and brought the game down the wire with the lay-in from Beathea at the horn.
In the first, the Owls jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, forcing a Saint Rose timeout at the 17:35 mark. The Owls kept pushing as they moved out to an 11-2 advantage, followed by a 10-0 run from Saint Rose for a 12-11 lead.
The score tied two times after that, the last coming with 8:20 left. Southern Connecticut laid down a 15-6 spurt through the next five minutes to hold its largest lead of the half at 35-26. Both teams collected five points each to close out the first, putting the Owls ahead 40-31 at the break.
Sophomore forward Staci Barrett led the Golden Knights with 17 points, followed by senior guard Gabie Polce with 15. Polce also dished out a team-high three assists, while fellow senior guard Jamie Hutcheson collected 10 rebounds. Barrett nabbed eight boards herself.
Saturday's game marked the final contest for five Saint Rose seniors, consisting of Danielle DePierro, Hutcheson, Polce, Jess DeNicola and Mariah Lesure.
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