Mount Saint Mary never trailed in the game but was pushed right to the final minute. At the 1:23 mark, Brockport senior Jen Buskus (Orchard Park, N.Y.) capped an 8-0 run for the Golden Eagles with a jumper that made the score, 47-42. After running the shot clock to under ten seconds, Zrowka found junior Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) under the basket for an easy layup to push the lead back to seven. With Brockport forced to foul, Zrowka made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to put the game away for the Blue Knights.
As they have done so often this season, the Blue Knights rushed out to a 12-3 lead in the game’s opening minutes. They would lead by as many as fourteen in the first half and carried a 27-17 to the intermission.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Brockport closed the gap to six with a high-arcing jumper from senior Brenlyn Campbell (Williamsville, N.Y.). Sangster pushed the lead back to eight with a foul line jumper on a feed from Zrowka. Zrowka would score the next nine points for the Mount, draining a three-pointer, two layups, and a pair of free throws and the Blue Knights maintained an eleven point lead at the ten-minute mark.
For the game, Zrowka shot 5-for-9 from the floor and 11-for-12 from the line. She also collected 10 assists, making her accountable for more than seventy-five percent of the team’s points. Sangster was the next leading scored for the Mount, totaling 13 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Junior Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) didn’t score for the first thirty-three minutes, but played well at the defensive end of the floor, nabbing three steals and a blocked shot.
Campbell led the Golden Eagles with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting. She caught fire in the second half, making 5-of-7 attempts from the floor. Brockport’s second leading scorer on the season, junior Whitney Smith (Webster, N.Y.), was held without a field goal and finished with just 2 points.
For the Mount, the first-round victory is their second in as many years. The Blue Knights defeated Albright College in the first round of last year’s tournament. Mount Saint Mary will be seeking their first ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen in tomorrow’s second round contest.