Merchant Marine - 64, Farmingdale State - 54
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team hosted Merchant Marine this afternoon in a Skyline Conference game and fell, 64-54.
Trailing 13-8 with 3:14 left to play in the first, the Mariners (13-3, 9-3) closed the quarter with seven straight points to go out in front by two.
Senior guard Madison Reddick (Baker, Mont.) opened the second quarter with a layup and pair of free-throws on the first two Merchant Marine possessions to extend the advantage to six, 19-13.
The Mariners extended the lead to 25-17 midway through the second until a 6-0 FSC (8-6, 6-5) run pulled the Rams within two, 25-23. Merchant Marine quickly answered with five straight points before freshman forward Kalena Ricketts (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) hit a 3 at the buzzer to cut the Farmingdale State deficit to 30-26 at the break.
Rickets led the way with a team-high nine points and five rebounds in the first half.
Trailing 38-28 with 7:12 on the clock, FSC freshman forward Samantha Muller (North Babylon, N.Y.) connected on back-to-back 3's to pull the Rams within six.
After a Reddick jumper with 3:43 left in the third put USMMA ahead 44-37, the Mariners followed with two straight baskets to take an 11-point lead. Ricketts connected on a layup at the end of the quarter to bring the lead back to single-digits, 48-39.
With 7:12 remaining in the game and the Rams down 54-44, a 6-0 run that saw a pair of baskets from senior guard Anna Zaborowska (East Patchogue, N.Y.) and a jumper by Muller cut the deficit to four. On the next Merchant Marine possession, freshman forward Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho) hit a 3-pointer to bring the advantage back to seven, 57-50, with 4:01 on the clock.
Merchant Marine led by at least five points the remainder of the game as they went on for the 64-54 victory.
Muller recorded a team-high 21 points and added six rebounds, while Ricketts finished the day with a double-double on 15 points and 10 boards.
For the Mariners, Reddick scored a game-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Jackson tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Rams next will play host to Mount Saint Mary in a Skyline Conference matchup on Wednesday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m.
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