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Copyright 2020, Greg Carroccio, All rights reserved.
66
Mercy MERCY 5-1
67
Winner Goldey-Beacom GBCW 1-5
Mercy MERCY
5-1
66
Final
67
Goldey-Beacom GBCW
1-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Mercy MERCY 7 13 21 25 66
Goldey-Beacom GBCW 17 14 22 14 67

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Jenissa Varela’s Steal and Free Throws Propel Women’s Basketball to 67-66 Win Over Mercy



Junior Jenissa Varela (Ledyard, CT) came up with a massive steal in the final two minutes and then buried the deciding free throws with 18 seconds left in Goldey-Beacom's 67-66 triumph over regionally ranked Mercy at the Jones Center in Wilmington, DE.
 
The Lightning were not daunted by the fact the Mavericks entered undefeated and ranked seventh in the latest D2 CSC (College Sports Communicators) East Region Poll.  GBC had its foot on the gas with a 31-14 run over the first 17 minutes, thanks to nine points from Rory Ciszkowski (Wilmington, DE), six from fellow sophomore Gaia Zimbardo (Parma, Italy) and five from freshman Katie Yoder (Dublin, PA).
 
Goldey-Beacom in that span shot 12-of-22 from the floor that included 8-of-15 from two-point range and forced Mercy into nine turnovers.  The Mavericks only went on a 6-of-21 clip during that span, including 0-of-4 from three-point range.
 
Mercy benched all of its starters to begin the fourth quarter and the team responded, using a 20-3 run over 6 1/2 minutes to take a 61-59 lead with 2:52 to go.  Jaclyn Stanavich went on a tear with 11 points in that time, burying a 3-pointer with 3:46 left to give the Mavericks their first lead since the opening quarter at 59-58 and ending the spurt with a layup.
 
Sophomore Karlee Lemon (Williamsburg, VA) missed a 3-pointer on the other end for the Lightning, but senior Janiya Stevens (Ellendale, DE) got a huge offensive rebound and was fouled.  She canned both free throws with 2:20 remaining for a 61-61 tie.
 
After Stanavich missed a layup, Goldey-Beacom had the ball for what turned into a key sequence.  Yoder, the reigning Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Rookie of the Week, missed a 3-pointer and Kyla Nembach got the rebound.  But Varela tipped the ball away and it went to Yoder, who drove for the go-ahead layup with 1:40 left for a 63-61 game.
 
Stanavich nailed a jumper with 1:18 to go for a 63-63 tie, but Varela responded by hitting a driving layup with 60 seconds remaining for a two-point lead.
 
Mercy had seen two players foul out at this point and looked to one of its reserves.  Nembach answered the bell, converting an old-fashioned three-point play with 45 seconds to go for a 66-65 lead.
 
The Lightning had another chance for the lead and Yoder received an open look, but she missed and Mary McClintock got the rebound.  However, Nembach inadvertently knocked her to the ground for a traveling violation with 34 seconds remaining that gave GBC (1-5) new hope.
 
Varela was called upon and she drove to the goal, drawing a hand-check foul from McClintock with 18 seconds left.  She calmly drained both free throws for a 67-66 contest.
 
Now the Mavericks had the shot clock off looking for win.  Nembach missed a 3-pointer from the right wing and Tedesco twice could not convert two layups before a tie-up with 0.5 seconds left kept the ball with Mercy on the possession arrow.
 
The Lightning's defense was on lockdown and that forced a missed, 30-foot desperation shot from Tedesco as time expired.
 
Ciszkowski again played great, scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting with a personal-best six 3-pointers that included 11 points in the third quarter.  She now is at 81 career 3-pointers, just 13 shy of reaching the school's top 10 list.
 
Yoder scored 11 points, Varela had 10 and five assists with Stevens getting seven points and nine rebounds.
 
Katie Wall scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting before fouling out, Stanavich recorded 20 and seven rebounds with McClintock adding nine points on 4-of-4 shooting for the Mavericks (5-1).
 
Goldey-Beacom is home Wednesday against Holy Family as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.  Game time is at 6:00 pm, followed by the men's contest at 8:00 pm.
 
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