Kean Pulls Away From Tufts to
Advance to Sweet Sixteen
UNION, N.J. (3/6/10) - Sophomore guard
Brittany Powell (Tinton Falls, N.J.) scored a
career-high 21 points to lift the Kean University women's
basketball team to a 75-56 win over Tufts University to advance the
Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen.
The #2 Cougars (28-1) tie the school record for wins in a season,
as they extend their school-record winning streak to 28 games.
Junior forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway,
N.J.) scored all 17 of her points in the second half and
finished with 11 rebounds for her 13th double-double of
the season.
Tufts (21-6) was led by junior Colleen Hart (Needham,
Mass.), who knocked down eight three-pointers en-route to
scoring a game-high 28 points.
Powell (pictured right), who is starting in place of Kean's
all-time leading scorer Melissa Beyruti (Union City,
N.J.), hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor and had four
three-pointers for the Cougars. Beyruti is still day-to-day
after suffering an injury in the New Jersey Athletic Conference
championship game a week ago.
The Cougars took an early 11-5 lead just 2:05 into the contest,
as the Cougars knocked down their first three-pointers, the last
two coming from Powell. The score would remain that way
though for the next four minutes of the game, before Hart ended the
scoring drought with a three-pointer to pull the Jumbos to within
11-8.
After a pair of Kean free throws by rookie Naimah
Clemons (Newark, N.J.) gave the Cougars a 13-10 lead, Hart
had a jumper and Tufts senior forward Julia Baily (Farmington,
Conn.) had a lay-up to give the Jumbos a 14-13 lead midway
through the half. A lay-up by Powell put the Cougars back up
one, before a three-pointer by Tufts sophomore guard Kate
Barnosky (Huntington Station, N.Y.) put the Jumbos back ahead
at 17-15.
Powell would then ignite a 10-0 Kean run with a three-pointer
and would score eight of the teams points in the run to give Kean a
25-27 lead with 6:39 left in the half. The Jumbos would
answer with seven straight points, pulling to within 25-24 on a
lay-up by Baily with 5:17 left and would take a 28-26 lead with
under two minutes remaining in the half, before the Cougars took a
29-28 lead at halftime on a lay-up by junior Angelica
Bermudez (Jersey City, N.J.).
Powell netted 16 points in the first half for Kean, while Hart
had 13 points and Baily chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds
for Tufts.
Baily opened the scoring in the second half for Tufts, giving
the Jumbos a 30-29 lead and a three-pointer by Barnosky would put
the Jumbos ahead one final time at 36-35, before a 9-0 run by the
Cougars gave them the lead for good.
Tufts pulled back to within four points at 46-42, however Kean
responded with another 11-0 spurt to take a 57-42 lead with 8:32
left in the game.
Down the stretch, the Cougars led by as many as 23 points, as
they advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in the last
four seasons.
In the victory, senior guard Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna,
Pa.) had 17 points and three steals, while Clemons added
13 points and five rebounds. Bermudez (pictured left) came
off the bench to grab a game-high 15 rebounds.
Baily finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds
in her final career game.
Kean will face Bowdoin College in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday,
March 12, at a site to be announced.
