MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Women's Basketball Team (15-9, 13-4 NEAC) saw their season come to an end Tuesday night at the unlikely hands of the Wells College Express. While the Wells program is only three seasons old, Tuesday's victory marks the first time the Wildcats have ever lost to the Express.
The game was decided in the final seconds. After SUNYIT rallied in the second half to take the lead, the Express answered by clawing their way back to tie the score at 80 with just under 16 seconds to play.
After a timeout, the Wildcats were able to successfully break the Express full-court press only to see the ball get poked away from behind in transition. The steal led to a mad dash fastbreak for Wells in which Kristen Ryan missed a seemingly wide open layup; right when SUNYIT fans thought the Wildcats had caught a huge break, however, Wells forward Ashley Roser swooped in for the offensive rebound and was fouled attempting the put-back with the clock showing just 0.1 seconds.
Roser, who finished the game with 36 points and 14 rebounds, had been named the NEAC Player of the Year for the 2012-13 regular season only hours earlier. An excellent free throw shooter, Roser stepped to the line and sank both. Without enough time remaining to even attempt a shot, the play dealt SUNYIT a heartbreaking loss, 82-80.
Putting aside the finish, the rest of the game was not without drama. With just 1:37 to go in the first half the Wildcats found themselves in an uncharacteristic position for a home game – down 12 points and struggling to find the basket. To the surprise of no one, though, last season's Player of the Year Lyndsey Brognano (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy) came to the rescue. The senior (who earlier in the day had been named to the NEAC All-Conference First Team for the second-straight year) drained back-to-back 3-pointers, then, with time winding down drove the baseline and threw up a seemingly hopeless runner. The ball struck the front of the rim and, as if compelled, somehow crawled up over the front rim for the score as the buzzer sounded.
The basket gave way to uproarious cheers, and concluded a stretch of eight straight points for Brognano to pull the Wildcats within six, down just 40-34 going into the locker room.
Despite the loss, the soon-to-be SUNYIT legend went out with a bang, scoring 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting and four 3-pointers, all of which seemed to come at crucial moments during the game.
Aiding Brognano as usual was junior Abbey Hanehan (Stillwater, N.Y. / Stillwater). The 5-8 guard recorded SUNYIT's second-highest point total with 21, recording yet another double-double by grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds as well.
Overall for the Wildcats, the seniors stepped up big. Most notably Kayla McNeil (Stillwater, N.Y. / Stillwater) turned in one of her best games when it was most noted, going for 18 points (almost 10 points above her season average) on 8 of 15 shooting. McNeil was near-automatic with her turnaround jumper, and hit a number of clutch baskets in the final minutes to keep SUNYIT ahead.
Senior forward and too-often-unsung-heroine Ashley Schmidt (Camden, N.Y. / Camden) contributed as always on the glass for the Wildcats, pulling down 10 rebounds and even knocking down a pair of critical free throws for the Wildcats that put the team up 76-69 with just under three minutes to play. Senior guard Lauren Marleau (Prospect, N.Y. / Holland Patent) even came off the bench to hit a big jump shot in the first half.
While the unexpected loss will no doubt sting for some time, the four SUNYIT seniors can be proud of knowing that they presided over the most successful four-year stretch of basketball in SUNYIT history, as the team qualified for the conference postseason tournament for the fourth year in a row this season, and set a school record for wins last year in going 22-5.
The Express will advance to the NEAC Semifinal to be held this Saturday at host Lancaster Bible College, while the Wildcats finish another spectacular season with a final record of 15-9.
