Brandywine Clips Gallaudet To Lock Up Postseason Spot

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team escaped with a 51-50 victory over Gallaudet to clinch a spot in the United East Conference Tournament on Tuesday night.

Brandywine held a 50-45 edge with 3:07 to play before needing to hold on for the win. Gallaudet trimmed the margin to three points with a bucket at the 1:43 mark and got within one thanks to a layup with 36 seconds to go.

After both teams came up empty offensively during possessions with less than 20 seconds to play, Trinell Watson (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws to make the count 51-49 with five seconds remaining. The Bison missed a layup, but collected the offensive rebound. A foul sent Kayla Debrow to the free throw line with less than one second to go, needing to make two free throws to tie the count.

Debrow missed the front end and made the second and Brandywine ran the clock out to earn the one-point road victory.

Gallaudet netted four-straight points to end the first quarter as the hosts claimed an 11-8 lead.

Brandywine outscored the Bison 19-14 during the second period to bring a two-point lead into halftime. The Lions used a late, 6-0 spurt that included back-to-back baskets from Taylor Mims (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) to hold a 27-25 advantage at the break.

Brandywine led by as many as five points during the early minutes of the second half, but Gallaudet rallied to tie the count at 38-all with 1:30 following a layup from Sophia Wascher. Abigail Adorno (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Lehman) countered with a three-pointer and Watson followed with a three-point play to push the Lions in front 44-39 through three periods.

The teams traded baskets during the first five minutes of the final stanza with Jazmyn Kemp's (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) bucket with 5:31 to go marking the Lions' final made field goal of the night, but a pair of Watson free throws were enough to preserve the victory.

Watson led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points and hauled in eight rebounds, while Adorno, Mims and Raelyn Loper (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) all chipped in eight points. Mims added seven boards and Loper tied for the team lead with three assists.

Brandywine held the hosts without a made three-pointer and limited the Bison to 32 percent shooting from the field.

Brandywine (6-18, 5-7 UEC) closes out the regular season Saturday at home against St. Mary's of Maryland at 3:00 PM.