No. 11 Marymount presses Gallaudet women basketball at home

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Gallaudet women’s basketball team began the
second half of the Capital Athletic Conference season on Saturday
afternoon and faced a tough challenge as the Bison hosted No. 11
Marymount (Va.) University in a Capital Athletic Conference game. A
very tenacious defensive performance by the Saints kept the Bison
in-check for much of the first half and Gallaudet was not able to
recover as it dropped the contest, 68-45, at the Field House in front
of a crowd of 225.

Despite the loss, the Bison (9-7, 4-5 CAC) remain in fourth place in
the CAC and in the hunt to host a first-round conference playoff
game. Gallaudet has not hosted a home CAC playoff game since the
1999-2000 season. GU has not reached the postseason since the
conference expanded to nine teams in 2007. Gallaudet faced Marymount
(17-1, 8-1 CAC) in the second game of season back on November 17 and
lost a hard fought match, 68-59.

Marymount opened the game on a 14-0 run, in an eight-minute span,
thanks to a very aggressive man-to-man full-court pressure defense
that led to five Bison turnovers. Gallaudet got on the board with a
free throw by freshman Shaquana McDonough (Pembroke, Mass.) but was
not able to muster much offense for the remainder of the half as
Marymount took a 39-16 lead into the break.

Marymount continued its man-to-man full-court pressure defense well
into the second half, however the Bison were able to find cracks in
the defense and managed to play even with the Saints as each team
posted 29 points over the final 20 minutes of play.

Freshman Maddie Morgan (Wilmington, Del.) earned the start out of the
break after a nice performance in the first-half off the bench as she
knocked down a three-pointer, added an assist and played sound
defense in 12 minutes of action. Morgan continued her hot hand from
behind the three-point line in the second half as she drained two
more attempts and finished with a season-high 13 points, three steals
and two assists.

McDonough also played well in the loss. She finished with a team-high
14 points (5-for-10 from the field), pulled down six rebounds,
collected three steals and dished out two assists. Junior Easter
Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.), who led the CAC in points per game
before today’s contest and scored 19 points in the first game against
Marymount, was shut down by the Saints defense. Faafiti saw numerous
double teams and terrific help defense all game as Marymount was
determined to not let her score. Faafiti finished with just two
points and nine rebounds.

Marymount junior Amanda Billy was on fire early as she hit the first
three shots for the Saints, two three-pointers and a jumper. She
finished the game with a team-high 14 points. Senior Kathleen Brown
was the only other Saint to reach double figures as she recorded 13
points and seven rebounds. All 13 Saints saw playing time in the win.

GU will look to end its recent three-game losing skid on the road
next Wednesday, January 27, as they travel to Stevenson University
for a 5 p.m. game. The Bison defeated the Mustangs back on December
2, 57-51.