Arlington, VA – The Oberlin College women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort but, in the end, it wasn't enough as the Marymount University Saints outlasted the Yeowomen 56-52 in the opening round of the Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament.
Oberlin used a diverse scoring attack with 10 players getting on the board this evening led by a career-high 13-point showing from
Jaedyn O'Reilly.
Alyson Jefferson added nine points while
Anora Lee matched a collegiate-high with eight tallies.
The game was called closely throughout the opening period as the host Saints hoisted 13 first-quarter free throws with nine of their 15 points in the frame coming at the charity stripe. Oberlin grabbed a 13-9 lead on an O'Reilly layup with 2:54 left to play in the quarter but the Yeowomen would go cold as the Saints closed the session on a 6-0 run to claim a two-point advantage after the first 10-minute stanza.
The Oberlin scoring drought continued well into the second quarter until an O'Reilly triple-hit from the far corner at the 5:57 mark got the Yeowomen back on the board and shrunk the deficit down to 19-16. A junior from Fountain Hills, Arizona, O'Reilly later put the Yeowomen back out in front, converting a 4-point play to give Oberlin a slim 24-23 edge but it was the Saints who ultimately carried a 33-28 lead into the halftime intermission.
Oberlin stayed within striking distance throughout the third quarter as no more than five points separated the two foes. A Lee 3-pointer with just under two minutes to go had the Yeowomen within two, 39-37, and that would be the deficit Oberlin faced heading into the fourth down 41-39. The Yeowomen had a chance to level it in the closing seconds of the session, but O'Reilly's floater rolled out.
Oberlin netted the first four points of the final frame to reclaim the lead by a pair. It was all even at 48-48 with 2:05 to go but a banked-in 3-pointer from Kyla Treadwell gave the Saints the lead with 81 seconds still to expire. Jefferson had the Yeowomen within one, 53-52, cashing in a jumper in the paint with 23 ticks left. Following a pair of Saints free throws, Oberlin had a look at potential game-tying triple, but the attempt was well off the mark to allow the Saints to hang on for the win.
The Yeowomen were out-rebounded 42-26, which included a 17-7 margin on the offensive end as the Saints finished with a 16-1 advantage in second-chance points.
The loss, which featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, evened Oberlin's record to 2-2 on the year. Oberlin will play in a consolation game tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. with its opponent still to be determined.
