McDaniel Uses Strong Second Half to Get Past Alvernia
McDaniel College rode a 23-point third quarter to a 52-39 win over Alvernia University in the ECAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Backed by 15 points from Lauren Cavoli and 13 points from Elaina Beckett, the Green Terror overcame a cold-shooting first half to defeat the Wolves in the neutral site game. Cavoli did all of her damage from long distance, shooting 5-of-11 from three-point range and hitting 5 of the 9 shots from three for McDaniel in the game. Lil Overcash nearly had a double-double without points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing 8 assists on the afternoon, while chipping in 4 points.
Paige O’Brien came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points for Alvernia, with Jennah DeGout right behind her with 9 points and also 7 rebounds.
Alvernia never trailed in the first half, leading 11-7 after the first quarter and 20-15 at the half, taking advantage of a strong defensive performance to put the top seed on upset alert.
McDaniel turned things around in the third quarter, coming out of the locker room with back-to-back threes, on by Cavoli and the other by Overcash to give the Green Terror their first lead of the game. The lead changed hands a few times after that, but a jumper by Teya McConnaha made it 25-24 and put McDaniel up for good. Including that basket, the Green Terror went on a 15-2 run to breakopen a 12-point lead and held a 38-31 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Cavoli hit a pair of timely three-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter to spur an 8-0 run that put the Green Terror up by 15 points. The lead never dipped below 10 in the final 8-plus minutes as McDaniel finished off the 52-39 win.
McDaniel will play in the ECAC Tournament Semifinals tomorrow, March 9th at 1:00 p.m.