Lady Bears Fall to UC Clermont at USCAA Nationals

UNIONTOWN, PA – After trailing for nearly 36 minutes, #8 UC-Clermont gained the lead with less than a minute left and held off #9 St. Joseph's for a 49-45 victory to advance in the 2010 USCAA National Tournament.  Freshman guard Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) paced the Lady Bears with 12 points.

Mangan also pulled down seven rebounds and swiped a team-high tying six steals.  Sophomore Joanna Marciniec (Glendale, NY/Baruch) scored eight points, including two crucial layups in the second half that helped the Lady Bears build their largest lead of the game at nine.

Also for St. Joe's sophomore Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep), who was recently granted USCAA Honorable Mention All-American, added seven points, dishing out a game-high seven assists with four steals.  Freshman Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) grabbed a game-high tying nine caroms.

University of Cincinnati Clermont (26-6) was led by junior Allison David who scored 13 points and shot 8-for-10 from the line.  Junior Dawn Rapp added 11 points and sophomore Shauneece Shipman added nine points.

St. Joseph's pulled away midway through the opening stanza to take an eight point lead into the lockers.  Clermont equalized the game on a David jumper, 27-27, at the 14:18 mark, but the Lady Bears responded with a 12-2 run that gave St. Joseph's their largest lead of the game at nine points.

The Cougars got back into the game from the free-throw line, reaching the bonus situation with 11 minutes left in regulation.  For the second half, Clermont shot 26 free throws, compared to St. Joseph's four, benefitting from a 14-6 foul disadvantage.

A pair of free throws from David with 44 seconds left gave Clermont their first lead of the game, 46-45, in 30 minutes of play.  Clermont quickly extended their lead to three with a steal in the backcourt and fast break layup. 

The Lady Bears had a good attempt at drawing even, but a Mangan trifecta attempt with 13 ticks left was too strong.  Clermont was fouled and missed two free-throws, but on the ensuing rebound, Doran appeared to be fouled, but there was no call, to the displeasure of Coach Frank P. Carbone, and Clermont secured the rebound.  The Lady Bears were forced to foul again and the Cougars hit one of two to make a force possesion game and put the game out of reach.

St. Joseph's (15-13) falls into the consolation bracket and will play tomorrow at 10 a.m. facing the loser of the #5 Rochester/#12 Penn State Fayette game played later today at 6 p.m.  Fans wishing to follow the action can do so by visiting www.sjcbears.com.