Scarborough, Gophers Put Late Scare Into Cardinals

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher went ahead for the first time in tonight's Landmark Conference game against Catholic when Jaida Scarborough (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor) nailed a shot from 3-point range with 7:06 left to play. The next time the Gophers got the ball, the sophomore guard made a free throw to put her team up 50-48.

After that, Goucher had five possessions to try to add to its lead and was unsuccessful each time. Catholic closed to within 50-49 on a free throw by Melissa Errico with 3:37 remaining and regained the lead on a layup by Payton Smith with 2:50 showing on the clock.

The Gophers, who had trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, scored their first points in nearly four and a half minutes when Briana Bull (Baltimore, Md./Owings Mills) fed Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) in the paint for a basket that created a 52-52 tie with 1:53 left to play. The Cardinals, however, tallied the final five points of the contest to pull out a 57-52 victory, which extended their winning streak in the series between the two schools to nine games and gave them sole possession of second place in the conference standings.

It was a layup by Errico with 1:36 remaining that snapped the 52-52 deadlock and put Catholic back in front. After the Gophers (4-8, 0-4 Landmark) came up empty on their subsequent possession, the Cardinals were able to tack on a mid-range jumper by Jayni Webster and a free throw by Michelle DeSantis before time expired.

An 8-0 run capped by Kristen Walheim's 3-point field goal provided Catholic with its biggest advantage of the contest (35-21) with just 1:21 remaining in the first half, but thanks to a 3-pointer by Dominque White (Lubbock, Texas/Potomac Falls) and a pair of free throws by Scarborough, Goucher knocked its deficit down to 35-26 at the break.

Scarborough led all scorers as she finished with 14 points. Olivia Nono (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) supplied the Gophers with 10 points and missed a double-double by one rebound.

Although she was held to two field goals and a total of four points, Ezeani collected seven rebounds and blocked five of Catholic's shots during her 16 minutes on the court.

Errico was the lone double-digit scorer for ther Cardinals (10-4, 4-1 Landmark) as she produced 13 points.

With six different players grabbing at least six rebounds, Catholic ended up with a 46-37 edge on the boards. They turned their 19 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

The Gophers will play a third Landmark Conference game this week on Saturday when travel to play Scranton. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.