MADISON, N.J. (February 22, 2017) – Freshman
Kendrea Williams scored 25 points to lead the FDU women's basketball team to a 66-60 victory over Eastern in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom semifinal Wednesday.
The Devils improve to 23-3 and will take on DeSales in the MAC Freedom Championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Ferguson Recreation Center.
Eastern seemed to not miss starting the game, jumping out to an 11-6 edge after a jumper by Taylor Price. The Devils countered back with a 6-0 spurt of their own, capped off by a layup and free throw from Williams. The Eagles received a basket from Emily Lavin at the first quarter buzzer to go up two going into the second frame.
Seniors
Rachel Groom and
Alyssa McDonough hit back-to-back layups to even the score at 17, however scored 10 of the next 13 points to build of their biggest leads at seven. The Devils evened the score at 29 heading into halftime, holding Eastern to no field goals over the final 5:09 of the second quarter.
10 of the first 13 points of the third quarter went in Eastern's favor, going up nine, which was their biggest lead of the night. The Devils scored on their next four possession, including three 3's by Williams to even the score at 43. FDU finally took the lead with 2:23 left in the third as freshman
Cayla Staggers converted a pass from McDonough for the fast-break layup.
The teams traded leads in the fourth quarter, but sophomore
Kayla Croswell scooped up an offensive rebound and hit a layup to put the Devils back in front by two with 2:55 left. After Eastern hit one of two from the charity stripe, Croswell hit another jumper to push the lead to three. FDU hit six clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and advance to the championship game.
Williams connected on 6-of-12 from behind the arc, while McDonough had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Groom narrowly missed a double-double settling for 10 points and eight boards. Croswell only played 17 minutes, but ended with eight points and nine rebounds (five offensive), as sophomore
Raven Dowling had a team-high seven steals.
Lavin finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, as Eastern shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent in the second half.
