March 6, 2004

Box Score

Arlington, VA - Annetta Benjamin scored a game-high 21 points while Nikki Rowland added 12 to lead No. 17 Marymount over 12th-ranked Johns Hopkins, 73-57, in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Second Round Saturday afternoon at the Verizon Sports Arena.

The Lions improve to 25-4 and advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they will face McDaniel. The Blue Jays end their season at 24-4, setting a school record for fewest losses in a season.

Marymount, which has now advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last four seasons, led 33-30 at the half and went on a 10-2 run to open the second half and go up 43-32 with 15:24 remaining. Following a timeout, Hopkins quickly answered as junior forward Katie Kimball (Garden City, NY/Garden City) hit a lay-up, junior forward Ashanna Randall (Media, PA/Penncrest) nailed a free throw and senior guard Maureen Myers (Waverly, PA/Abington Heights) drained a three-pointer to pull the Blue Jays within 43-38 with 13:46 to play.

However, the Lions responded with five consecutive points to go up 48-38, and extended their run to 12-3 at the 9:00 mark when Kacee Grogan hit a lay-up to make it a 55-41 game. The lead was still 11 at 59-48 with 5:08 left, but JHU sophomore forward Amanda Leese (Amherst, NH/Bishop Guertin) nailed a foul shot and Myers scored a bucket to make it an eight-point game at the 4:25 mark.

After Annetta Benjamin hit one free throw, Myers scored twice to pull Hopkins within 60-55 with 2:36 to play. Leese then recorded a steal, but Myers missed a jumper at the other end, and Randi Jones hit a 17-foot jumper at the shot clock expired to put Marymount up 62-55 with 1:48 on the clock. After Grogan canned two of four free throws, Myers hit a pair of foul shots to bring the Blue Jays within 64-57 with 1:14 to play, but the Lions hit nine free throws down the stretch and held Hopkins scoreless to seal the victory.

Myers finished with a team-high 16 points for the Blue Jays, while freshman forward Julie Miller (Annandale, VA/Thomas Jefferson) came off the bench to add 11. Leese finished with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Randall chipped in nine points and eight rebounds for Hopkins, which hit just 3-of-16 three-point attempts.

Tricia Murphy was the third double-figure scorer for the Lions with 10 points while Kate Jarvis added nine points and six rebounds. Marymount held a 47-41 rebounding advantage and hit 26-of-39 free throws, while Hopkins was just 6-of-12 from the charity stripe.

The game was tight early, as neither team could go up by more then five through the first 10 minutes. With the teams tied at 20-20 with 9:39 left in the half, the Lions went on a 7-0 spurt, taking a 27-20 advantage with 7:34 to play. The Blue Jays answered as Randall and junior forward Kelly Rumsey (Atlanta, GA/Marist) scored inside, and consecutive lay-ups by Miller brought Hopkins within 31-30 before Grogan scored with 22 seconds on the clock to give Marymount the three-point halftime lead.

Box Score:        1   2       F#12 Johns Hopkins (24-4)        30  27  -   57#17 Marymount (25-4)        33  40  -   73