In a game that had 14 lead changes, Farmingdale State led 41-33 at the half. In the second half, the Rams increased their lead to 10 at 16:40 before the Mariners went on an 11-0 run to take the lead. The run was led by junior center Morgan Gartner (Houston, TX/Kingwood), who posted five points, three rebounds and one block to give Merchant Marine a 46-45 lead at 13:39.
The Mariners led by as much a six but Farmingdale State did not give up. The Rams fought back and took the lead with 27 seconds left when junior guard Christine Daley (Elmont, NY/Elmont) stole the ball on a hard press and made the jumper. Freshman guard Kim Blakney (Brooklyn, NY/Benjamin Banneker) hit 2-of-4 free throws after making two steals in the last 25 seconds of the game to increase the lead to three.
Blankney finished with team-highs of 17 points, 9 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks in her first game as a Ram. Daley also finished with 17 points, hitting 5-of-9 from three-point territory.
For Merchant Marine, Gartner tallied game-highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds. Stephanie Waller (Brookfield, WI/Brookfield East) added 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Kristen Hetsko (Killingworth, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) also added 11 points.
The Rams will host conference opponent Old Westbury on Monday, January 8th at 7:00pm.
Merchant Marine vs Farmingdale State 01/06/07 1:00 pm at Farmingdale, NY (Lynch Sports Center) At Farmingdale, NY (Lynch Sports Center) FARMINGDALE STATE 67, MERCHANT MARINE 64 MERCHANT MARINE (5-7, 2-1 Skyline) Morgan Gartner 9-18 7-9 25; Stephanie Waller 4-5 1-2 11; Kristen Hetsko 4-11 0-0 11; Marisa Olson 4-5 1-4 9; Andrea Carey 3-9 1-2 8; Hannah Eko 0-4 0-0 0; Ashley Carlisle 0-6 0-0 0; Kiersten Healy 0-2 0-0 0; Brooke Picillo 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 10-17 64. FARMINGDALE STATE (8-2, 4-0 Skyline) Blakney, Kim 5-13 6-12 17; Daley, Christine 6-14 0-0 17; Perez, Dankery 5-9 3-8 13; Clark, Rochelle 4-7 1-2 12; Steward, Tara 2-5 0-0 4; Miller, Mercedes 1-6 2-6 4; Llopiz, Shaquasha 0-1 0-0 0; Ruballo-Kline,Ashley 0-4 0-0 0; Jones, Dinah 0-0 0-0 0; DiGaudio, Maggie 0-0 0-0 0; Steward, Tiffara 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 12-28 67. Merchant Marine............... 33 31 - 64 Farmingdale State............. 41 26 - 67 3-point goals--Merchant Marine 6-19 (Kristen Hetsko 3-9; Stephanie Waller 2-2; Andrea Carey 1-3; Ashley Carlisle 0-2; Kiersten Healy 0-1; Brooke Picillo 0-2), Farmingdale State 9-21 (Daley, Christine 5-9; Clark, Rochelle 3-4; Blakney, Kim 1-4; Llopiz, Shaquasha 0-1; Steward, Tiffara 0-1; Steward, Tara 0-2). Fouled out--Merchant Marine-Stephanie Waller, Farmingdale State-None. Rebounds--Merchant Marine 53 (Stephanie Waller 12; Morgan Gartner 12), Farmingdale State 26 (Blakney, Kim 9). Assists--Merchant Marine 17 (Andrea Carey 5), Farmingdale State 17 (Blakney, Kim 5). Total fouls--Merchant Marine 19, Farmingdale State 16. Technical fouls--Merchant Marine-None, Farmingdale State-TEAM.