Rams Fall in First Round of NCAA's to Gettysburg

Gettsburg College- 68, Farmingdale State - 57

Bethlehem, Pa. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team saw the best season in program history fall short in the first round of the Division III NCAA Tournament, as Gettysburg College took the 68-57 victory from the Rams on Friday night at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. Senior guard Kim Blakney (Brooklyn, N.Y./Benjamin Banneker) scored a team-high 29 points, 10 rebounds, and six steals as Farmingdale ends the season with a 25-2 overall record.

The lead never changed hands in the game as Gettysburg's Lauren Dadigan put in the opening bucket 43 seconds in. The Rams posted the only tie on the ensuing possession before the Bullets rattled off the next four points to take the lead for good.

Farmingdale State, which came into the game leading the nation in steals and scoring margin, never let up the defensive pressure and pulled to a single point twice in the opening period, the last on a three-pointer by junior guard Janel Monah (Westbury, N.Y./Westbury) which made it 18-17 with 7:17.

The Rams made only one field goal for the remainder of the half, a three-pointer by national scoring leader Kimberly Blakney, and the team only made 6-of-37 shot attempts (16.2 percent) in the opening half. A 7-0 run gave the Bullets an 11-point lead (31-20) at the break.

Gettysburg put up the first six points of the final stanza and opened up a 20-point advantage (47-27) on a three-pointer by Courtney Fields at 12:54. The lead dipped to 13 (50-37) at 10:16, until another 7-0 run capped by a pair of Allie Drechsler free throws regained the 20-point margin (57-37) with 8:35 on the clock.

Minutes later, Blakney almost brought Farmingdale State back from the brink with eight-straight points to slice the margin to nine (61-52) with 3:22 left. Junior Caitlin Moser provided the counter, posting six points in the final three minutes to help stave off the comeback.

The teams combined for 97 rebounds in the contest with Gettysburg holding a 54-43 edge. Farmingdale's pressure resulted in 18 Bullet turnovers, but the Orange and Blue's zone defense resulted in a 19-for-71 effort from the field (26.8 percent) by the Rams. Gettysburg dominated inside action, out-scoring Farmingdale State 34-18 in the paint.

For the Rams, Blakney led the stat sheet, while senior guard Juanita Chappel (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) was the only other with more than five points, putting up 13 and handing out a team-best four assists.

Moser turned in the greatest single-game in Gettysburg postseason history, posting a career-high 34 points and grabbing 14 boards. Sophomore Julie McGrory posted seven points and five rebounds, while Dadigan finished with six points and six caroms. Fields also posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Drechsler grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, scored seven points, dished out five assists, and was Gettysburg's primary ball handler against the Rams' full-court press.

With the victory, Gettysburg (23-4) breaks the school record for wins and advances to the second round where it will meet either Utica College or host Moravian Saturday night at 7 p.m.

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