Second-Half Drought Sinks #14 Bulldogs in 55-53 Loss to Albright

Senior LeighAnn Burke shot 5-for-9 from three-point land in the loss to Albright on Saturday.

Box Score

BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (February 7, 2009) – The 14^th ranked DeSales University women's basketball team scored just five points over the final eight minutes of the game after it had taken a nine-point lead with 8:08 left to play as Albright College chipped away and made enough plays at the end of the game to upset the Bulldogs, 55-53, in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon.

The loss marks the first-time Albright (13-8 overall) has ever defeated DeSales in nine career meetings and is the second loss over the last three games for the Bulldogs (17-4 overall). The Bulldogs shot just 25.8 percent in the second half and went 2-for-13 (15.4%) from the field over the final eight minutes of the game. The 53 points scored is the lowest total scored in a home game since the first half of the 2006-07 season.

DSU had complete control of this game over the first 32 minutes of action. In the first half both teams started slow as Albright jumped out to a 6-4 lead before eight straight points from the Bulldogs gave the hosts a 12-6 advantage. DeSales kept control of the game throughout the half and leading by one (16-15) at the 6:17 mark four different Bulldogs connected keying a 9-1 spurt that pushed DSU up by nine, 25-16.

A free throw from Jessica McGinness cut the margin to six points but a lay-up from senior LeighAnn Burke (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) with 14 seconds left gave DeSales a 30-22 edge heading into the locker room. Burke led the way in the opening half with 12 points as the Bulldogs shot 43.3 percent in the first twenty minutes and forced Albright into a 9-for-32 (28.1%) effort from the field.

The second half started out with much of the same. McGinness cut the margin down to four points but a quick 6-0 run including five points from Burke pushed the lead up to 10 points (39-29) with 14:32 to go. The Lions kept chipping away but DSU kept answering as another Burke three at the 8:08 mark made the score 48-39 before the wheels fell off the Bulldog bus.

DSU switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone defense over the final 10 minutes of the game and Albright started to get some better looks at the basket as McGinness hit two of her three treys over the next three minutes to cut the lead down to one point, 49-48.

The Bulldogs just had no answer on offense and finally with 2:55 remaining, AC tied the game at 49 on a free throw from Annie McMahon. A missed lay-up on the other end saw DSU foul senior Bre Dillon on the Lions' next possession and she hit both freebies to make it a 51-49 game with 2:22 to go.

The two teams traded missed opportunities but after McGinness was off target on a three-pointer, McMahon grabbed the rebound and was fouled, hitting both charity tosses to make it 53-49. Burke ended a drought of 11 straight missed shots with a running jumper in the lane to cut the margin down to two points with 25 seconds left. Forced to foul, the Bulldogs sent Dillon to the line where she missed both free throws, but out of a DeSales timeout, the Bulldogs turned the ball over right away and fouled McMahon with 15 seconds left.

MaMahon made 1-of-2 free throws to give Albright a three-point lead and DSU used its final timeout with 10 ticks left. Senior Kim Rarick (Ringtown, PA/North Schuylkill) drove the lane and kicked the ball out to an open Burke but on the pass Rarick was fouled as the Lions had a foul to give and very intelligently used the foul with just five seconds left now. On the ensuing inbounds pass, freshman Megan Bedard (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) found senior Erica Sovak (Tuxedo, NY/George F. Baker) wide open under the basket for a lay-up but DSU needed three points to tie and Albright tossed the ball the length of the court where MariLynn McMonagle was fouled with 0.1 seconds left virtually ending the game as she converted 1-of-2 free throws providing the final score.

Burke finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-23 shooting, while Rarick added 10 points. Bedard played well off the bench with four points, two assists, and three steals in just 19 minutes of action.

McGinness had a team-high 16 points including three important three-pointers in the second half and Dillon added 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in the win.

The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday, February 11^th when they take to the road to face King's College in a Freedom Conference game beginning at 6:00 pm.

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