Kean Wins School Record 28th Game to Advance to
Elite Eight
UNION, N.J. (3/14/08) - The Kean University
women's basketball team opened the game on a 24-2 run and never
relinquished the lead to University of Chicago en-route to a 70-56
victory in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Sectionals at
Harwood Arena on Friday evening.
Guards Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) and
Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) combined for 33
points and four steals to lead the Cougars into the Elite Eight and
set a new school record for wins in a season (28).
Kean (28-3) faces Oglethorpe University, a 69-63 winner of
William Smith College earlier in the night, with a bid to the Final
Four on the line, on Saturday evening at 6 p.m.
For Chicago, sophomore forward Molly Hackney (East Lansing,
Mich.) finished with a game-high 
19 points and four blocks to lead the Maroons (22-6).
Jackman (pictured right) scored 11 points in the game-opening
run, as the Cougars built a 24-2 lead and forced the Maroons into
missing their first 12 shots from the floor over the opening
10 minutes of the game.
A lay-up by senior guard Nofi Mojidi (Silver Spring,
Md.) halted the Cougar run and sparked a 9-2 run by Chicago to
pull within 26-13 with 6:32 remaining in the first half. The
Maroons cut the deficit to 10 points (31-21) with 1:39 left, before
Kean extended the lead back out to 14 points at 36-22 heading into
halftime.
Jackman hit for 13 points, as she connected on 6-of-9 shots from
the floor to lead the Cougars, while Hackney had 13 points and nine
rebounds in the opening half for Chicago.
After the Maroons hit a three-pointer to open the scoring in the
second-half and pull within 11 points (36-25), Kean answered with
five straight points to push the lead back out to 16 points (41-25)
with 16:20 remaining.
Chicago cut the deficit to single digits for the first time
since early in the opening half, pulling to within nine points at
41-31 with 15:10 left on a lay-up by Mojidi.
The Cougars were able to hold off Chicago, allowing them no
closer than nine points the rest of the way, with the final time at
54-45 with just under nine minutes remaining, as they advanced to
the Elite Eight for the second straight year and just the third
time in school history.
Beyruti had 12 points in the second half to finish the game with a
team-high 18 points and five rebounds, while Jackman added 15
points and two steals. Junior guard Ebony Jackson
(Newark, N.J.) had eight points and a game-high five
assists in the victory.
Senior center Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.)
and sophomore forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway,
N.J.) each battled first-half foul trouble, as Cooper
(pictured left) finished with just five points and 10 rebounds and
Patrick had nine points and seven boards. In the game, Cooper
became just the third player in NCAA Division III history to
surpass 1,500 career rebounds, a she now has 1,507 career boards to
rank third in Division III history and 11th in NCAA
all-divisions history.
For Chicago, Hackney recorded a double-double with game-highs of
19 poitns and 10 rebounds, while Mijidi added 18 points and a
team-high three assists. Junior guard Alex Leach
(Gurneee, Ill.) rounded out the Maroons in double-figures with
10 points.
