Saturday, March 2, 2002

BOXSCORE

Long Island Defeats Fairleigh Dickinson, 80-60 in NEC Tournament
Natallia Marchanka scores 17 points and grabs four rebounds to lead team

Emmitsburg, MD - Junior forward Tamika Dudley scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures as second-seeded Long Island (17-11) downed Fairleigh Dickinson (14-14), 80-60, in a Northeast Conference women’s basketball quarterfinal game.

Natallia Marchanka (Rechitsa, Belarus) led the Knights with 17 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line--adding a team-high four rebounds and three steals. Nevin Caple (Baltimore, MD) scored 12 points and also had four rebounds.  She went 8-of-9 from the line. Erin Mills (Wilmington, DE) had nine points and two assists in her fifth start for the Knights.

Dudley scored 14 of her points in the first half as LIU jumped out to a 39-25 halftime lead. The Blackbirds outshot the Knights, 55% (18-of-33) to 24% (7-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, LIU maintained its 14-point advantage when, with 16:41 remaining, sophomore Jessica Brookes’ jumper ignited a 21-6 run to push the lead to 63-34 with 9:32 remaining and remove any chance of a repeat comeback for the Knights.

Junior guard Kim MacMillan added 17 points for the Blackbirds, while senior point guard Angie Stec had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and junior forward Nicki Winston contributed 10 points.

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