2008 Woodie Awards
Only room for one: late surge buries RMU
Women's b-ball wins battle of one and two seeds, remains atop NEC standings
Michael Barrett
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: Sports
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As the two undefeated NEC teams were set to collide, anticipation rose. However, captain Nicolle Rubino, a senior from Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., said the Pioneers were committed to playing the same style that carried them to their 7-0 conference record.
"We went into this game like any other and intended to play our game," said Rubino, who helped her team by recording 13 points, one assist and one rebound.
With Monday night's win, the Pioneers move to a record of 8-0 in the conference and 15-2 overall.
Sacred Heart controlled most of the first half, heading into the locker room holding a 38-34 lead. The strong defense that defined the Pioneers game held the Colonials to only 12 for 32 shooting while causing 12 turnovers.
The second half started off with the Colonials coming out strong and putting pressure on the Pioneers' defense. RMU pulled to within one point five minutes into the half.
Yet, Sacred Heart stayed strong, holding the lead any time that RMU threatened. The Pioneers continued to hold off the Colonials' surge until there were five minutes left in the half and the score was 62-59.
Sacred Heart then turned the table on RMU and answered back with a 16-0 run to end the game.
Captain Kerri Burke, a junior from Saugus, Mass., said "keeping our composure on defense" was the major part of the fantastic run to end the game. Burke ended up finishing with 13 points, six assists and one rebound.
Coach Ed Swanson was impressed by the way his team held off its opponent.
"They held the rope on the game and came up with a big basket here and a big basket there [to drive home the win]," Swanson said. "It is a tremendous team win for us after we played a very complete game."
Aside from his team's excellent defensive and offensive efforts, Swanson said that the key to the Pioneers' victory was "energy and emotion that the team played with," especially that of Jasmine Walker, a junior from Amityville, N.Y.