ALBANY-The College of Saint Rose gave a surging American International squad all it could handle before succumbing 82-73 in today's
Northeast-10 Conference regular-season finale at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Golden Knights shot 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from the arc, but were outrebounded 16-6 on the offensive glass in a game that featured nine lead changes and five ties.
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Sophomore guard
Ashley Vanderwall again shot well from long distance, going 6-for-10 on the way to a career-high 29 points for Saint Rose (12-14/7-13 NE10). Meanwhile, senior forward
Staci Barrett and senior guard
Taylor Nazon scored 14 apiece.
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The Golden Knights trailed by only a bucket, 32-30, at the break, but then found themselves down 10, 52-42, with 1:48 to go in the third before closing the period on a 7-2 run that cut the deficit in half. They then got even on two occasions in the fourth and were within five, 73-68, after Nazon buried a pair from the free throw line with 1:07 to go. However, the Yellow Jackets (18-9/13-6 NE10) went 9-for-10 from the stripe during the final minute to chalk up their sixth win in the last seven games.
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Sophomore forward Dana Watts, the nation's second leading scorer at 22.4 ppg entering today, tossed in 27 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Imani Stepney and sophomore guard Jayda Gilmore finished with 19 and 14 respectively. The latter also handed out seven assists, with only one turnover.
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Today was the Golden Knights annual Pink Zone game. To that end, the College donated the gate receipts to Camp Bravehearts, an oncology camp for women that was co-founded by Saint Rose head coach
Karen Haag.
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Looking ahead, Saint Rose now awaits its fate regarding the NE10 Championship. The postseason gets underway with first round action this Friday, February 24. Meanwhile, American International plays its regular-season finale Tuesday with a 5:30 pm home date versus Adelphi.
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