MMA Loses to Backer in NAC Finals
Castleton VT- Becker College junior, Beth Pion dropped 18 points and hauled in 7 rebounds to lead the Hawks to a 60-41 win over second seeded Maine Maritime in the North Atlantic Conference women’s basketball championship. With the win Becker earns their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament with an overall record of 18-10.
The #4 Hawks raced out to a 14-2 lead over the first 7 minutes of play, as Maine Maritime struggled to find a rhythm against a determined Becker defense. The Hawks stretched the lead to as many as 16 with 7:32 remaining, but Maine Maritime would chip away, ending the half on a 12-3 run. All-Tournament selection, Amethyst Cousins scored 8 of her team-high 13 points in the first half, to keep the Mariners in the game.
Much as she did in the pervious night’s semifinal game, tournament most valuable player, Pion took over in the second half, scoring 14 points over the final 20 minutes of play. After Maine Maritime cut the lead to 28-23 with 18 minutes to play, Becker unleashed an 11-0 run to put the game away.
All-Tournament selection, Kristin Karat scored 10 in the first half and 11 in the second for a game-high 21 points. Courtney Fiske hit a pair of three-point field goals for 6 points and hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds. Cousins added 17 rebounds to go with her 13 points in earning All-Tournament honors. Maine Maritime (19-9) placed 10 players in the scoring column, but no one other than Cousins could muster more than 5 points as the Becker limited the Mariners to just 23% shooting from the field on the game, and 2-for-22 from three-point range.
Becker will await NCAA Tournament pairings to find out where and when
they will be playing.
2008 North Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Castleton State College
Mary Nienow - Junior, Guard, Middlebury, VT
Husson College
Jenny Rollins - Junior, Guard, Corinth, ME
Maine Maritime Academy
Amethyst Cousins - Freshman, Forward, Tremont, ME
Megan Franklin - Junior, Forward, Skowegan, ME
Becker College
Kristin Karat - Junior, Guard, Enfield, CT
M.V.P. Beth Pion - Junior, Forward, Enfiled, CT
Women's Basketball