College Women’s Basketball Final – Marymount (Va.) 74, Guilford 70

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Marymount University held off a furious rally and defeated Guilford College Friday, 74-70, in a first-round NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game.

The Saints (23-5) advance to Saturday’s second round to play Albright College, a 64-54 winner over Piedmont College in Friday’s first NCAA playoff contest in Guilford’s Ragan-Brown Field House. The second-round contest between Albright and Piedmont begins at 7:00 p.m. in Ragan-Brown. Tickets will go on sale at 5:30 p.m.

Marymount outscored the Quakers (24-4), 33-7, in the second quarter and opened a 50-27 halftime lead. Regan Lohr scored 15 of her team-high 19 points in the opening frame, which saw Marymount connect on 21-of-31 shots (67.7%) from the floor, including four-of-five three-pointers.

The Saints’ margin grew to 60-34 when Nicole Viscuso scored with 3:32 left in the third quarter. The Quakers tallied the quarter’s final two baskets, including a buzzer-beater by Anais Weatherly that made the score 60-38.
Guilford senior guard Amy Steller nearly single-handedly rallied the Quakers back into the game against the tiring Saints. She scored 18 of her career- and game-high 28 points in the final frame. Steller made all eight free throws and knocked down two three-pointers, the first with 1:48 left in the game that got Guilford to within 66-60. The Saints were called for a foul away from the shot and Anais Weatherly made one of two free throws to get Guilford to 66-61.

Guilford scored 18 straight points in the final six minutes and made it a 66-65 game on two Steller free throws. Following a timeout, Viscuso delivered a clutch basket inside and was fouled. She finished the three-point play, which snapped Guilford’s run and opened a 69-65 Saints’ lead with 35 seconds to play. Steller’s second three-pointer got Guilford to within 72-70 with four seconds left, but Marymount’s Leah Hurst sealed the win with two free throws a second later.

Viscuso and Lohr shared team-high scoring honors with 19 points apiece. Viscuso grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, which helped Marymount win the rebounding battle, 42-31. Kiki Laux, who had 12 first-half points, added 16 points and eight rebounds. Hurst finished with five points, five boards, nine assists and two steals. Marymount shot better nearly 53 percent from the floor, the highest by a Guilford opponent this season.

Steller’s 28 paced the Quakers and marked the team’s highest individual point total this year. Heaven Walters added 12 points and Weatherly finished with seven points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Guilford turned the ball over a season-low seven times, once in the second half.

The loss ends Guilford’s nine-game winning streak and caps a successful campaign that saw the team post the second-highest win total in school history.

Marymount (Va.) vs Guilford
03/03/17 7:30 pm at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House

MARYMOUNT (VA.) 74
GUILFORD 70

MARYMOUNT (VA.) (23-5): Regan Lohr 7-11 3-3 19; Nicole Viscuso 8-14 3-3 19; Kiki Laux 7-12 1-1 16; Tenesha Green 3-6 0-1 7; Gabriella Haddad 3-4 0-0 6; Leah Hurst 1-5 3-4 5; Tyffani McQueen 1-4 0-0 2; Lauryn Stouffer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 10-12 74.

GUILFORD (24-4): STELLER, Amy 7-15 12-12 28; WALTERS, Heaven 5-7 2-5 12; WEATHERLY, Anais 3-10 1-3 7; BROWN, Jordyn 3-4 0-0 6; ABRAHAM, Essence 3-9 0-0 6; SCOTT, Kayla 1-7 2-4 4; RAMSEY, Lauren 1-6 1-2 3; CLARK, Kate 0-5 2-2 2; WALTERS, Miracle 1-3 0-0 2; RICHARDSON, Jordyn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 20-28 70.

Marymount (Va.)...............   17   33   10   14  -   74
Guilford......................   20    7   11   32  -   70

3-point goals–Marymount (Va.) 4-8 (Regan Lohr 2-4; Kiki Laux 1-1; Tenesha Green 1-1; Leah Hurst 0-2), Guilford 2-11 (STELLER, Amy 2-4; WEATHERLY, Anais 0-1; ABRAHAM, Essence 0-3; CLARK, Kate 0-3).
Fouled out–Marymount (Va.)-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Marymount (Va.) 42 (Nicole Viscuso 11), Guilford 31 (WEATHERLY, Anais 10).
Assists–Marymount (Va.) 17 (Leah Hurst 9), Guilford 11 (RAMSEY, Lauren 6).
Total fouls–Marymount (Va.) 18, Guilford 14.
Technical fouls–Marymount (Va.)-None, Guilford-None.
A-525

NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament – First Round
Marymount advances to play Albright Saturday (3/4) in a 2nd-Round game at Guilford College