#2 Merchant Marine - 64, #6 Farmingdale State - 35
Kings Point, N.Y. - In the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Championship, sixth-seeded Farmingdale State traveled to #2 Merchant Marine this evening and fell, 64-35. The Rams were eliminated from the playoffs, while the Mariners advanced to the finals and will face the winner of #1 Mount Saint Mary and #5 Purchase on Saturday with the winner claiming the conference's automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
After a 3-pointer by FSC (10-17) junior guard Nia Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) cut the deficit to 11-7 with 4:12 remaining in the first, Merchant Marine (21-3) closed the quarter with four unanswered points to go out in front, 15-7.
Leading 17-9 with 9:05 left in the second, the Mariners used three straight layups by freshman center Lauren Hunter (Tinley Park, Ill.) to extend the advantage to 23-9. Miller tallied a layup on Farmingdale State's next trip down the floor but Merchant Marine followed with a 9-0 run, including five points by sophomore guard Kiana Vega (El Paso, Texas), to go ahead, 32-11. The Rams scored the final six points of the quarter and went into the break trailing 32-17 as Miller notched a team-high seven points in the first half.
After trading baskets to open the third quarter, Merchant Marine used back-to-back scores by Kaleigh D'Arcy (White Plains, N.Y.) and Shelby Peters (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) to take a 38-19 lead with 7:44 on the clock. FSC answered with a Selena LaFranca (Smithtown, N.Y.) 3 and 1-of-2 at the line from sophomore guard Destiny Hurt (Long Beach, N.Y.) before an 11-0 Mariners' run gave Merchant Marine a 49-23 advantage late in the third.
Farmingdale State scored their final basket of the game on a Hurt layup with 3:51 remaining and were defeated, 64-35. The Mariners tallied the last six points en route to the 29-point victory.
Miller led the way for FSC with 15 points, Hurt added 10 points and sophomore forward Alexis Hunter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) secured a team-high 13 boards in the loss
For the Mariners, Hunter finished the night with a double-double on a game-high 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds, while D'Arcy recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
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