Devils Back on Track with Win over Nyack

Colleen Christian led a trio of player in double figures as the University of the Sciences Women's Basketball Team bounced back from two consecutive losses to defeat Nyack College 57-45 Saturday at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia. 

Sciences improves to 7-4 overall with the win and 3-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.  Nyack fall to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in league play. 

Christian  (Central Bucks South HS/Warrington, Pa.) knocked down seven field goals (2 three-pointer's) and was a perfect 2-2 at the free throw line to lead all scorers with 18 points.  Caitlin Shaw (Monmouth Regional HS/Eatontown, N.J.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Marissa Chesnavich (Bishop O'Reilly HS/Pittston, Pa.) also added 12 points.  Shaw's double-double was also her second straight and third in her last four games.  Christian and Melissa Rotz (Central Dauphin HS/Harrisburg, Pa.) paced the Devils with four assists apiece.  Rotz also had four steals, equaling the highest total by a Devils player this season.   Sarah Hickman (Wilmington Christian School/Newark, Del.)  saw some quality minutes off the bench, producing eight points (3-5 FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds.   

Gretchen Tobias was the lone Nyack player in double figures, scoring ten points (2-8 FG, 6-6 FT).  Cassaundra McNeill added nine while Courtney Peay had eight.  Bobby Van fleet grabbed 11 rebounds to pace Nyack's rebounding efforts. 

The Devils scored the game's first six points and it could have been a lot more as Nyack committed 10 turnovers in their first 11 possessions and were held without a field goal for the first 7:43 of the period.  The Devils led by just four points, 10-6 at the 8:39 mark before an 8-2 spurt boosted their lead to double figures, 18-8 with 4:14 left.  Nyack shaved one point off the lead as the half came to a close with the Devils on top 23-14.  The Devils shot just 26.5% for the half (9-34) which was slightly better than Nyack's 4-21 effort (19%). 

Layups by Shaw and Chesnavich to open the second half, boosting Sciences lead to 13, 27-14 and helped set the tone for a better shooting performance by the Devils than they turned in during the opening 20 minutes of play.    The Warriors cut the lead back down to nine on a McNeill basket at the 16:41 mark and the Devils lead then hovered between nine and 11 points for the next four minutes until a Christian basket again gave the Devils a 13-point lead 37-24 at the 12:00 minute mark.  Nyack twice cut the lead back to nine only to have the Devils counter and regain the 13-point advantage.  Sciences stilled by 13, 49-36 at the 5:10 mark when the Warriors made one last push, going on a 9-2 run to pull within six, 51-45 with 3:20 left.  A driving layup by Christian put a stop to the run.  Sciences would get a layup from Rotz and a pair of free throws from Christian to finish off their scoring while holding the Warriors without a point over the final 3:20 to produce the 12-point win. 

Sciences shot 43.3% (13-30) in the second half to finish the game shooting 34.4% (22-64).   Nyack made 11 of 27 (40.7%) in the final 20 minutes to finish the game shooting 31.3% (15-48).   The Devils held a big 46=35 rebounding advantage (18-9 on the offensive glass) and had much better control of the ball, committing just 18 turnovers (17 assists) to Nyack's 24 (7 assists). 

The women's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 when they host Chestnut Hill College at the Bobby Morgan Arena.  Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.