Coach Colleen Ames was named Skyline Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
The Knights Women’s Basketball team won their 13th Skyline Conference title in program history recently, pulling away for a 61-53 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA).
The game marked the team’s 11th straight victory of the season and pushed it to 23-3 overall as they headed into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Morina Bojka led the Knights by 19 points and was named the Skyline Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player. The Knights’ coach, Colleen Ames, was named Skyline Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
A tightly contested opening period featured four lead changes before baskets by the Knights’ Annie Keenan and Lauren Desrats opened a 12-9 advantage in the first quarter. With the Knights in front 14-10, their largest lead of the period, USMMA responded with the final four points of the quarter to tie the score.
The Knights closed the second period by building their lead back to 34-29. With a shot percent of about 34 percent in the first half, the Knights struggled from three-point range after going just 2-for-16 from behind the arc.
In the second half, neither team would get on the board until Keenan knocked down a pair of free-throws in the third quarter to give the Knights a 36-29 advantage. USMMA responded with the next six points to cut the Knights’ advantage down to a single point, at 36-35. But Bojka pushed the Mount back in front by three with a jumper before Asia Rivera buried a three-pointer.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights put together a 15-2 run covering nearly six minutes to open their largest lead of the game at 58-43. Though USMMA climbed back to within striking distance of the Mount, the Knights ultimately ended the game with a 61-53 victory.
The Skyline win earned the Knights a spot in this year’s NCAA Division III tournament. They opened the contest with a win against Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md., but the Knights’ journey was halted in game two by the Christopher Newport University team, the Captains.