Thursday, March 17, 2011

Three MAAC Women's Team Still Playing

Keepin' up with MAAC women's teams in post season, while anxiously awaiting Marist's first-round NCAA Tournament appearance Saturday at 11:15 a.m. against Iowa State...

- Sophomore guard Katie Sheahin drained a clutch three-point shot with just over three seconds left to lift the Loyola University Maryland women's basketball team to a 67-65 win over Old Dominion in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Ted Constant Convention Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

The victory was the first in a national post-season tournament ever for the Loyola program.

With the win, the Greyhounds (21-12) advance to the WNIT Second Round to meet the winner of Thursday's Morgan State-Virginia contest which is being played in Charlottesville, Va.

With 20 seconds remaining in the first-round game Sheahin dribbled around two Lady Monarch defenders and knocked down a fade away three-pointer to give Loyola a two point lead, 67-65, with just 3.1 seconds left on the clock.

Old Dominion had one more opportunity to score and senior Jasmine Parker launched a desperation shot from midcourt. Parker's shot was too strong and bounced off the backboard to seal the first ever postseason victory for the Greyhounds. of the game.

In addition to scoring a game-high 27 points, Sheahin led all rebounders with nine and tied for game-high honors with six assists.

The victory gave Loyola its 21st of the season, matching the program's all-time best for a single season. The only other team to reach 21 wins in a single-season was in 1998-1999 when the Greyhounds went 21-7.

- Manhattan (22-9) makes its first postseason appearance in eight years with tonight's Women's Basketball Invitational first round game against Sacred Heart (18-12) at Draddy Gymnasium.

The Lady Jaspers last played on March 5, when they dropped a 50-47 decision to Loyola in the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament. The Pioneers have also been off since March 5, when they lost to Central Connecticut, 54-49, in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament.

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