ROSEMONT, Pa. - The Rosemont College women's basketball team defeated the visiting Centenary College (NJ) Cyclones tonight by a final score of 65-62. It marked the first time that the Rosemont program defeated the Cyclones and extended Rosemont's win streak to three. The Ravens are now at the .500 mark at 11-11 overall (5-9 CSAC) while the Cyclones dropped to 14-9 overall (7-7 CSAC).
Tonight was Ravens Rally Night and Rosemont payed tribute to their seniors this evening, Latifah Edwards (Sr./Germantown/Philadelphia) and Vanessa Johnson (Sr./G.W. Carver/Philadelphia).
Early on it looked like Rosemont would have a shot at earning the victory. About eight minutes in the Ravens held a 14-9 lead. The scoreboard would go unchanged for the next 3:37 when a jumper from the Cyclone's Jen Vasta got things rolling Centenary's way. Rosemont continued to hold the lead until 4:14 was left in the half. A layup by Danielle Trunksess gave the Cyclones a 20-19 advantage and they would extend that lead until the end of the half with the Ravens trailing by seven, 28-21.
After falling behind by nine the Ravens put together a 10-0 run to grab the lead briefly at 31-30 with 16:07 on the clock. After the teams traded baskets the Ravens started to build a small cushion, but only led by four points, 38-34 with 13:22 to play. Centenary again took the lead with 9:17 left, 42-40, but a key trey from Ashley Montecchio (Jr./Sun Valley/Aston, Pa.) put the Ravens back up 43-42 with 8:18 left. Another big three-pointer came from Alex Gravinese (Fr./Audubon, NJ) with 14:26 left, turning a two-point deficit into a one point advantage. The teams again could not get separation until Rosemont went on a 9-2 stretch to take a 55-48 lead with 3:08 left.
The Cyclones would not go away, clawing back several times to within two points, but Rosemont had an answer for each rally down the stretch to keep Centenary at bay and to earn the win.
The Ravens placed four players in double-figures. Johnson, on her Senior Night, earned her third double-double of the year, scoring 10 and ripping down 11 rebounds. Co-scoring leaders for Rosemont were Liz Coyne (Fr./Downingtown West/West Chester, Pa.) and Montecchio, each with 15 points. Gravinese scored 10 for the Ravens.
The Ravens reversed their fortune in the second half, outscoring Centenary by a 44-34 count. All 15 of Montecchio's points were scored in the second half while 11 of Coyne's points were also scored in the final period.
The high scorer for the game was Centenary's Danielle Truksess who put 23 on the board, 14 in the second half. Jen Vasta added 11 for the visitors.
The Ravens next hit the road for their final two games, beginning with a game against the Mighty Macs of Immaculata University on Saturday, 2/11 at 1:00pm.