(Geneseo, NY) – The Medaille College women's basketball team ran into one of the hottest teams in the nation when they squared off against 4th ranked and undefeated Babson College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this evening on the campus of SUNY Geneseo. From the opening tip the Beavers took control of the game en route to a (78-58) win over Medaille.
The Lady Mavs were making their fifth appearance in the "Big Dance" while Babson was there for the sixth time. In the 2010 tournament Babson reached the Elite 8 while Medaille bowed out in the second round. The night belonged to Babson as they shot tremendously well, rebounded even better and shared the ball remarkably well, assisting on (25 of 32) buckets.
The Lady Mavs put forth a valiant second half effort and it all began four minutes into the second stanza when they began to press and trap the Beavers with relentless defensive pressure the entire length of the floor, that strategy led to a (13-4) run by the Lady Mavs over the next three minutes of play. However, Babson answered every Medaille run by knocking down big shots.
The Lady Mavs trailed by as many as (28) points in the second half but were able to cut that margin to (15) on several occasions but could never get any closer as Babson connected on (64.0%) of their shots in the second half. The Lady Mavs scored (21) points off turnovers in the game, compared to just (5) for Babson but it would not be enough as junior Kathleen King was dominant for the victors, finishing with an impressive double/double of (20) points and (19) boards.
Senior Amanda Sahhar (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) put together a strong effort in her final game for Medaille as she scored (11) points while pulling down a team high (13) boards. Fellow senior Kacie Mills (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore East) tallied (10) points while tying a game high with (6) assists.
Coming off the bench to offer a bit of a spark for Medaille was freshman Joelle Pollak (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore East) who led the team in scoring with (12) points. While junior Tanisha Travis (Rochester, NY/Fairport) was all over the floor, finishing with (8) points, (5) boards and a game high (3) blocked shots.
The loss ends the Lady Mavs tremendous season with a (22-5) record, a share of the AMCC Regular Season title, and another trip to the NCAA Tournament.