Alex Porter scored 14 points and grabbed a career high 22 rebounds for Rochester. Julie Marriott added 15 points and seven rebounds. Rochester improved to 24-3. The Yellowjackets will play The College of New Jersey in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA playoffs on March 13 at a site to be determined.
Cardiss Jackson scored 23 points for Kean. Tiffany Patrick had nine points and 11 rebounds. Ebony Jackson scored eight points and handed out eight assists. The Cougars finished 22-8.
“Kean had two nice runs in the second half,” said Rochester coach Jim Scheible. Rochester ran off 10 straight points to edge ahead, 31-28, five minutes into the second half. Patrick sank a jumper and that ignited a 16-4 run for Kean over the next four minutes. Jackman and Patrick scored four apiece in the spurt. Kean led, 44-35, with 11:32 to go.
“During a timeout, we talked about not giving up,” Scheible said. “We felt we had another run in us.”
Five points from Alwardt and three from Marriott got the Yellowjackets within a point. It hovered between one and four until Marriott’s layup and another trey from Alwardt pushed Rochester in front, 50-49, with 6:12 left.
Jackson drove for a fast break layup, then fed Jackman for a trey and Kean went back in front. Rochester turned to the long ball. Jessica Mastronardi hit a three. After a foul shot by Porter tied the score at 54-all with 3:45 left, Alwardt sank two three-point goals around a Jackson jumper. Rochester led, 60-56, with 1:46 to play. The Yellowjackets made six free throws in the final 38 seconds to wrap it up.
“Fortunately,” Scheible said, “Melissa got hot at the right time.”
“In the first half, I felt my shot was off,” Alwardt said. She made one of eight from the floor. “My release point wasn’t right. “(Assistant coach) Glenn (Begly) talked to me about it at halftime.” In the second half, she made seven of 12 from the floor, five of six outside the arc.
Alwardt had 14 rebounds to go with Porter’s 22. Rochester held a 59-35 advantage on the backboards. They outrebounded Kean, 37-3, off the Kean glass and had 22 offensive rebounds. “We let them get second chances,” said Kean coach Michele Sharp. Rochester scored 16 second chance points. “They run 10 people at you,” Sharp said.
Newspaper Box Score Kean University vs Univ. of Rochester 3/7/2009 7 p.m. at Rochester, NY At Rochester, NY UNIV. OF ROCHESTER 66, KEAN UNIVERSITY 59 KEAN UNIVERSITY (22-8) Cardiss Jackman 10-18 1-1 23; Tiffany Patrick 3-10 3-3 9; Alysha Taylor 3-14 0-2 9; Ebony Jackson 4-7 0-0 8; Danielle Brown 1-4 2-4 4; Danielle McFadden 0-1 2-2 2; Olivia Triano 1-3 0-0 2; Angelica Bermudez 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 23-61 8-12 59. UNIV. OF ROCHESTER (24-3) Alwardt, Melissa 8-20 3-4 25; Marriott, Julie 4-13 7-11 15; Porter, Alex 5-15 4-8 14; Mastronardi, Jessica 1-8 1-2 4; McNelis, Johanna 1-4 0-0 3; Luther, Jodie 1-2 1-2 3; Fisher, Marlena 0-1 2-2 2; Stern, Rachel 0-1 0-0 0; Korber, Madeline 0-1 0-0 0; Testani, Alicia 0-2 0-0 0; Waddell, Jessica 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-69 18-29 66. Kean University............... 26 33 - 59 Univ. of Rochester............ 21 45 - 66 3-point goals--Kean University 5-19 (Alysha Taylor 3-11; Cardiss Jackman 2-6; Olivia Triano 0-2), Univ. of Rochester 8-23 (Alwardt, Melissa 6-12; McNelis, Johanna 1-3; Mastronardi, Jessica 1-5; Testani, Alicia 0-2; Marriott, Julie 0-1). Fouled out--Kean University-Cardiss Jackman; Tiffany Patrick, Univ. of Rochester-None. Rebounds--Kean University 35 (Tiffany Patrick 11), Univ. of Rochester 59 (Porter, Alex 22). Assists--Kean University 11 (Ebony Jackson 4), Univ. of Rochester 14 (Mastronardi, Jessica 3; Marriott, Julie 3; Alwardt, Melissa 3; Porter, Alex 3). Total fouls--Kean University 21, Univ. of Rochester 10. Technical fouls--Kean University-None, Univ. of Rochester-None. A-375 Rochester advances to round of 16.