Box Score

The NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament began on Friday evening with two first round matchups being hosted at the University of Rochester. The Louis Alexander Palestra was filled with excitement in the first game of the double header, as Marymount University of Virginia defeated Massachusetts Institute of Technology 58-54.
 
MIT came into the first round of NCAA's with a 18-9 record after winning New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. Marymount came in at 24-3 overall and clinched a bid after winning the Capital Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.
 
It was a low scoring first period as Marymount led MIT by a score of 12-7. The defense continued into the second quarter as Marymount maintained their lead until a run by the Engineers late in the period. MIT's Jocelyn Luizzi was in the right place at the right time as she ended the half with layup as time expired for the Engineers. Marymount went into the locker room with a one-point lead at 26-25.
 
The momentum from the latter portion of the first half carried MIT in the third quarter as they went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half and take a 32-26 lead. A Nicole Vicuso jumper for Marymount ended the MIT run and cut the lead to back to four points.
 
"I saw MIT basketball and a high level of focus coming out of the locker room," said MIT coach Sonia Raman when asked about the 7-0 run to begin the half.
 
After beginning the fourth quarter down by four, Marymount began to shift the momentum back their way as Regan Lohr started to heat up. Lohr struggled in the first half but came in clutch for her team during the fourth quarter as she hit two giant threes to get Marymount back within one at 45-44.
 
Taylor Love made a timely layup for her only two points of the game to give Marymount a 48-47 lead. After trading baskets on a few possessions it was Lohr who came up big again with two huge free throws to extend the Marymount lead and put the game on ice.
 
When asked about Lohr's performance in the fourth quarter, Marymount head coach Ashlee Rogers said, "She is our go to player down the stretch and we know that she can make that shot. She struggled at first but had that shooter's mentality to just keep shooting and knew that they would start falling."
 
Leading the way for Marymount was Viscuso with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists. Regan Lohr ended the evening with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Leah Hurst chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for Marymount while Tyffani McQueen finished with seven points and four rebounds.
 
MIT was led by Taylor V'Dovec's double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes. Kara Holinski added 12 points and four assists for the Engineers while Luizzi and Kylie Gallagher had 10 points apiece.
 
MIT finishes their season at 18-10 after their first ever trip to the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament. Marymount improves to 25-3 and will take on the winner of the Rochester versus Stevens Institute of Technology in the second round, tomorrow night back at the Palestra.