Thannhauser Scores 1,000th Point

2/15/2014 9:24:00 PM

Elmira 58, Nazareth 53 (Box Score)
The Elmira College women's basketball team stayed in the driver's seat for the fourth and final playoff spot as the Soaring Eagles defeated Nazareth College 58-53 on Class of 2014 recognition day. Maria Thannhauser '14 joined elite company today, becoming the fifth player in EC history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Thannhauser scored 10 points on the afternoon, eight of which came in the second half as Elmira pulled away for the victory.

The Soaring Eagles trailed for most of the first half as Nazareth came out on fire from three-point range, knocking down four of their first eight attempts from downtown. The Golden Flyers stretched their lead to seven, 17-10, off a Hannah Runyon three-pointer, but that would be their largest lead of the game as Elmira slowly chipped away at the deficit.

EC still trailed 23-17 with 3:11 left in the first half, but the Purple and Gold would proceed to go on an 8-0 run to make it a 25-23 game with under a minute remaining. After Nazareth tied the game at 25 with a pair of free throws, it looked as though Karli Pochkar '16 had given Elmira a two-point advantage with a couple ticks left on the clock, but it was negated with an over-the-back foul call on the sophomore. As a result, the two teams went into the locker room tied 25-25.

Riding the momentum from the close of the first half, the Soaring Eagles came out strong from the intermission to take control of the game. Alex Balara'14 scored four quick points to start the half which jumpstarted a 10-2 run which gave EC an eight-point advantage just three minutes into the half.

The Elmira lead hovered around four points for the next few minutes until Thannhauser stepped into her only successful three-pointer of the game with 13:11 remaining, giving EC a 40-33 advantage. Her three from the corner gave her five points in the game, but more importantly, it gave her 1,000 career points. 

Thannhauser did not stop there as she continued to produce offensively, coming up clutch down the stretch. Nazareth cut a 10-point Elmira lead to just two with 40 seconds left but a layup by the senior with 15 seconds left all but put the game away for the Soaring Eagles. Balara added a free throw with seven seconds left to bring it to the 58-53 final.


Stevens 60, Houghton 51 (Box Score)
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team picked up its fifth consecutive victory with a 60-51 triumph at Houghton College on Saturday. Stevens improves to 16-7 with the win, while Houghton drops to 7-16 overall.

Stevens trailed by four points at halftime, 28-24, but used a strong second half and outscored the Highlanders, 36-23, to come away with the nine-point win on the road.

Neither team shot particularly well from the floor as the Ducks went 18-for 55 (32.7-percent) and Houghton shot 18-for-52 (34.6%). Stevens benefitted at the free throw line with a plus-11 disparity which accounted for the difference in the contest. The Ducks went 22-for-28 at the line, while Houghton made 11 of its 18 attempts.

The counterparts flip-flopped halves in shooting percentage as Stevens shot 25% (8-for-32) in the first half and 43.5% (10-for-23) in the second. Houghton shot at a 43.5% (10-for-23) clip in the opening 20 minutes, compared to 27.6% (8-for-29) in the second half.

Kaitlyn Astel knotted the game up at 28-28 with 18:15 remaining in regulation and made the and-one to put Stevens ahead, 29-28. Houghton would outscore the Ducks, 17-8, over the next nine minutes to build its largest lead of the contest at 45-37. Stevens went back ahead thanks to a 12-3 run in a five-minute span, 49-48, until Kristen Moose put in a free throw with 4:08 left on the clock deadlocked the scoreboard.

The Ducks put together another short run of 7-0 for a 56-49 lead with 2:22 to go on a jumper from sophomore Miranda Ripken. Houghton scored on its next possession to trim its deficit to 56-51, but was held scoreless over the final 2:05.


Ithaca 64, Utica 53 (Box Score)
The Ithaca College women's basketball team (20-4, 12-1 Empire 8) hit the 20-win threshold for the fifth consecutive season with a 64-53 victory over Utica Saturday afternoon at Ben Light Gymnasium.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but a Kathryn Campbell jumper and a pair of free throws from senior Renée Metzger brought the Bombers within two at the 17-minute mark. Utica hit the next bucket to which Ithaca answered with 13 straight points for an infinite lead. The Bombers thrice led by nine, but the Pioneers pulled within 26-23 at 6:46. The Bombers held Utica without a field goal over the final seven minutes of play for a 34-24 gap at the half.

Ithaca powered ahead in the second, leading by as many as 21 at 13:40. The Pioneers surged over the final five minutes of play, outscoring Ithaca 12-5 to close out the game.

The Bombers shot 46.6 percent from the floor, while Utica hit 34.6 percent of all attempts. The Pioneers held a 40-32 advantage in rebounds.


St. John Fisher 71, Alfred 59 (Box Score)
Portia Velasco scored a game-high 26 points as the St. John Fisher College women's basketball team closed out its regular season with a 71-59 win against Alfred University Saturday afternoon.

After holding a three-point advantage, 33-30 at the start of the second stanza, Fisher began to control the game's pace.  After exchanging points in the half's opening minutes, the Cardinals took a nine-point lead after a 9-2 run that was bookended by three-point plays as Camaryn Buckner converted the old-fashioned variety, while Mary Kate Cusack drained one of her game-high three from beyond the arc.

Fisher continued its high-pace style of play, scoring six unanswered points capped by a Cusack jumper at 8:55 to give Fisher its largest lead of the game, 54-38, forcing the Saxons to call a timeout to regroup.

The break in action seemed to buoy the spirits of Alfred leading to a quick 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers that cut Fisher's advantage to eight points, but the visiting Cardinals would regain their momentum with a 9-2 run of their own to push the lead back to 15 points.

Alfred would come to within 10 points, but the Cardinals iced their free-throws, going 4-for-6 down the stretch to seal the win.

Velasco led all scorers with 26 on an efficient 8-for-14 from the floor.  The junior also had four steals and three helpers.  Cusack finished with 19 points, while Buckner scored eight points in the final regular season game of her career.  Claire Walsh had seven points and was perfect from the line, going 4-for-4.

Fisher's defense was also impressive as it forced 19 turnovers and held the Saxons to 33% shooting for the game.

SCHOOL	CONF	OVERALL
Ithaca	12-1	20-4
Hartwick	11-1	18-4
Stevens	8-4	16-7
Elmira	7-5	16-7
St. John Fisher	8-6	16-9
Nazareth	2-10	8-15
Alfred	1-11	6-17
Utica	1-12	6-17
Houghton	0-0	7-16
Houghton is an NCAA provisional member and is not eligible for postseason. Games against the Highlanders will not impact conference records/standings.