Mariners Regain Control, Finish Off Gophers
Smith Goes 12-of-13 on Free Throws, Finishes with 24 Points
January 9, 2009
KINGS POINT, N.Y. – It took Goucher less than eight minutes
to fall into a 16-4 hole against Merchant Marine tonight and then
only about half that amount of time to nearly erase that entire
12-point deficit with a 15-4 run midway through the first half. But
by halftime, the Mariners had regained control, building their lead
back up to nine points, and they were well on their way to a
convincing 82-56 Landmark Conference victory.
The 15-4 spurt that got the Gophers (4-7, 0-2 Landmark) back in
the game featured eight points by Amber Smith (Baltimore,
Md./Institute of Notre Dame) and four from
Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew
Academy), plus a three-point basket by Leia
Roberts-Brown (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll).
Smith, who was 6-for-7 from the field and missed only one of her 13
free-throw attempts, finished with a game-high 24 points.
Smith's lay-up with 8:03 remaining in the opening period got the Gophers to within 20-19, but when Merchant Marine's Kristen Hetsko drained a three-point at the buzzer ending the first half, the Mariners' lead had grown back to nine points at 40-31.
Leading 52-40 with 13:52 left to play, the Mariners (6-5, 1-1 Landmark) put the game out of reach when they outscored the Gophers, 18-1, over a span of 7:12 to pull ahead 72-43.
In addition to her 24 points, Smith supplied the Gophers with eight rebounds. The senior forward is the leading rebounder in the Landmark Conference, averaging 9.1 per contest.
The top scorer for Merchant Marine was Rebecca Grimes, who came
off the bench to contribute 20 points to the victory.