UNION, N.J. (1/11/11) – In a battle of top ten ranked teams, sophomore Naimah Clemons scored a career-high 28 points to lead the #6/7 Kean University women's basketball team to an 85-82 win in overtime over #1 Amherst College in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday evening.
Senior forward Tiffany Patrick finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Cougars (13-2), while senior guard Jaci Daigneault had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Lord Jeffs.
After scoring the first seven points of the game, Amherst led the entire first half, leading by as many as nine points early on at 10-1. The Cougars trimmed the lead to one point (23-22) on a lay-up by sophomore Nicol Biesek with 7:03 remaining in the half, before the Lord Jeffs pushed the lead back out to seven points at 31-24, before taking a 37-31 lead at halftime.
Junior forward Lem Atanga McCormick led the Lord Jeffs with 13 points, while Clemons scored 13 points for the Cougars.
The Cougars trimmed the lead to 37-35 with the first four points of the second half and after tying the game at 44-44 on a lay-up by junior Brittany Powell less than five minutes into the half, Clemons gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 48-45 with a three-pointer. Clemons' three-pointer was part of nine straight points for Kean, as they would take a 53-45 lead with 12:29 remaining.
Amherst scored seven straight points of their own to pull back within one point at 53-52 and Kean would lead by two at 61-59 with just under seven minutes remaining before six straight points by the Cougars extended the lead back out to eight points at 67-59.
The Lord Jeffs responded with a run of their own, scoring six straight points to pull back within one point at 67-66 with 4:04 remaining and would score five straight points to regain the lead at 71-69 with 1:49 left in the game.
Patrick responded with an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game, before a three-pointer by Kim Fiorentino gave the Lord Jeffs a 74-71 lead with 62 seconds remaining. A Cougar miss was rebounded by Amherst, however the Cougars forced the turnover, with junior Noel Mathis coming up with the steal and Clemons making the fast break lay-up to pull the Cougars within one point.
The Cougars fouled Amherst on its next possession and the Lord Jeffs missed the front-end of the one-and-one, as Clemons grabbed the defensive board and was fouled, sending her to the line for the double bonus. After Clemons made the front-end to tie the game, the Lord Jeffs got the defensive rebound and the Cougar defense kept Amherst in the backcourt, sending the game into overtime.
Kean scored the first five points of overtime, with Clemons taking the tip and scoring on the lay-up before Patrick added a foul shot and lay-up for the 79-74 lead. The Lord Jeffs tied the game one final time at 79-79 on a lay-up by McCormick, before four straight points by the Cougars pushed the lead back to 83-80. After junior guard Shannon Finucane had a lay-up to pull the Lord Jeffs to within 83-82, Kean freshman Emily Cristaldi calmly knocked down both free throws with 10 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 85-82 lead. Amherst was able to get a decent look at the basket, however a three-pointer by Marcia Voigt was off the mark and the Cougars secured the rebound for the win.
Bermudez and Mathis each finished with nine points for the Cougars, while Powell added eight points and four assists for Kean.
Daigneault and senior center Sarah Leyman each scored their 1,000th career points for the Lord Jeffs, as Leyman finished the game with nine points and 10 rebounds. McCormick added 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.