Arlington, Va. – Senior forward Maame Amponsah (Beltsville, Md./Lanham Christian School) lifted Marymount (Va.) University to a 57-56 victory over St. Mary's College of Maryland Wednesday night in Capital Athletic Conference action as Amponsah laid in a lay-up with six seconds remaining in regulation.
At the other end of the court, Amponsah blocks first-year forward Shana Lewis' (Bowie, Md./Bowie) lay-up at 00:02 before first-year Marche Pearson's (Laurel, Md./Laurel) tip-in falls off the mark as time expires to seal the Saint win.
The loss moves Marymount (6-5, 4-1 CAC) to first place in the conference standings while St. Mary's falls into a three-way tie for second with University of Mary Washington and York (Pa.) College.
The Seahawks (7-5, 3-1 CAC) overcame a five-point halftime deficit and claimed their first lead of the game at 16:51 with a 9-3 run to start the second half. Marymount struggled to establish more than a three-point lead from that point on and St. Mary's capitalized with a 14-6 run to lead by five with 1:41 remaining in regulation.
Back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Amanda Billy (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers) returned a one-point margin to the Saints with 35 seconds left before senior forward Jamie Roberts (Rockville, Md./Barrie) reclaimed the lead with her game-best eighth field goal of the night just 19 seconds later.
Amponsah finished the night with a double-double on 10 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, including 14 defensive boards. The 21 caroms helped Marymount dominate the glass with a 47-22 margin. Billy and senior Beth Wiggins (Burke, N.Y./Franklin Academy) also scored in double figures for the Saints with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Marymount held the Seahawks to six-of-28 field goals in the first half en route to a 24-19 advantage at intermission. St. Mary's trailed by only five thanks to Roberts' 13 first-half points – the most by any player at halftime – and 14 Saint turnovers.
Roberts notched a game-best 19 points in leading a Seahawk trio double-digit scoring as she dropped a career-high three bombs. Sophomore guards Pui Sham (Springfield, Va./W. Springfield) and Jasmine Jones (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Pearson hauled in a team-best six boards.
Positives for St. Mary's included a season-low five turnovers and 10 steals to the Saints' one.
St. Mary's hopes to return to the win column Wednesday night as the Seahawks continue conference action at Wesley College in Dover. Tip-off is at 2:00 pm.