Another big matchup between the Keuka College women's basketball team and rival SUNYIT, and another late-game, dramatic win for the Storm.
Junior Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) scored 26 points while sinking five '3s' and classmate Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches) added 18 points and seven assists as the Storm (18-2, 15-1 North Eastern Athletic Conference) closed out the game on a 7-0 run to win their 12th straight game, 87-80 Saturday afternoon in Marcy, NY.
Senior Mariah Mouzon (Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy) added 16 points and eight rebounds, junior Casey Chamberlain (Perry, NY/Perry) had 13 points and sophomore Erica Pendrak (Utica, NY/New York Mills) added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for Keuka.
The Storm, who sit in first place in the NEAC North, have now won seven straight vs. SUNYIT, and 10 of the last 11 matchups.
SUNYIT led 34-23 with six minutes remaining after a layup from Geena Gallo, but the Green and Gold fought back and used a 13-2 run to pull even at 36. Pendrak made a pair of free throws, Gravel had a jumper, Chamberlain made a lay-in and Gravel made a '3'to slice the lead to 36-32 with 2:46 remaining in the opening half.
Senior Montana McDonald (Romulus, NY/Romulus) knocked down a jumper, then got a steal and fed Chamberlain for a fast-break basket to tie the score at 36 with 2:03 remaining.
Despite 20 first-half points from Gravel, including four '3s' while connecting on 6 of 12 shots from the floor, IT would take a 44-39 halftime lead.
Trailing 47-46, Chamberlain buried a '3' and Mouzon and Pendrak each made layups for a 53-47 lead four minutes into the half.
Gravel made another three-pointer, Bandrowski had a layup and Gravel made a pair of free throws for a 64-58 lead with 10:11 to play, but the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 surge to take a 66-64 lead.
Emily Alicea hit a jumper to put IT up 70-69 with 5:34 remaining before Mouzon hit a jumper and Bandrowski drained a '3' for a 74-70 lead.
IT's Lyndsey Brognano answered with a '3' of her own to slice the Storm lead to one, but Pendrak followed with a '3' to restore the four-point lead.
That's when IT's Abbey Hanahan took over, scoring seven straight points to stake the Wildcats to an 80-79 lead with 2:02 remaining, but from there it was all Storm.
Gravel hit a free throw to tie the score at 80, then Bandrowski intercepted a pass and converted the fast-break layup for an 82-80 lead. Following a steal by Gravel, Bandrowski hit a pair of free throws for an 84-80 lead with 19 seconds remaining.
Pendrak went 1-for-2 while Mouzon was 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to close out the win. Keuka outscored IT 48-36 in the second half, shooting 51.6 percent (16-for-31).
With her 16-point game, Mouzon sits 18 points shy of becoming just the 10th student-athlete in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
Mouzon shot 7-for-9 from the field while Gravel was 5-for-11 on three-pointers and 7-for-8 on free throws. She added 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Hanahan led IT with 23 points while Brognano added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats.
Keuka hits the road for a 6 p.m. non-conference clash with SUNY Geneseo Tuesday night before closing out the regular season with a 1 p.m. game against Wells College on Feb. 16. Keuka defeated Wells 73-56 on Jan. 16.