Women's Basketball Opens Season With Victory Over Oneonta State

UNION, N.J. (11/17/07) - Junior guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) scored a game-high 17 points to lead four Cougars in double figures, as the Kean University women's basketball team defeated Oneonta State College, 72-49 in the season opener of the Cougar Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton College junior center Sydney Fasulo (Lancaster, Pa.) had a game-high 22 points to lead the Continentals past McDaniel College, 58-48, in the second game of the afternoon.

SECOND HALF SURGE PROPELS KEAN PAST ONEONTA STATE

Kean (1-0) outscored the Red Dragons 44-20 in the second-half and used a 29-5 run spanning the first and second halves to pull away for their first win of the season.

After the Cougars took an early 18-11 lead midway through the first half, Oneonta State (0-1) answered with a 18-3 surge to take a 29-21 lead with 5:07 left on a free throw by junior Casey Snyder (Colonie, N.Y.). 

Kean closed out the half scoring the final seven points to pull within one point on a three-pointer by Beyruti with just 15 seconds left to trail 29-28 at halftime. 

Beyruti finished with nine first-half points, while rookie Tiffany Patrick (Picataway, N.J.) hit 3-of-4 from the floor to finish with six points in the opening half.  Oneonta State was led by sophomore Sara Chrystie (Oxford, N.Y.), who had seven points and two assists in the opening 20 minutes.

On the Cougars first possession of the second half, Patrick hit a jumper in the paint after forcing the Red Dragon turnover to give Kean the lead for good. 

The Cougars extended the lead to as many as 25 points on a pair of occasion en-route to the 23-point season opening victory.

Sophomore Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) finished with 13 points, while Patrick added 10 points and three steals in the first game of her career.  Senior center Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) finished with a double-double, as she had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while adding three steals.

For Oneonta State, Chrystie finished with 10 points, including 6-of-9 shooting from the foul line, while junior guard Megan Bucci (Marlboro, N.Y.) had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

HAMILTON COLLEGE DEFEATS McDANIEL, 58-48

In the second game of the afternoon, Hamilton College held off a McDaniel College rally twice in the second half for the 58-48 victory. 

After trailing by double-digits early in the second half, the Green Terror pulled within five points midway through the second half at 38-33.  Hamilton answered with eight straight points to push the lead back out to 13 points, as Fasulo had a pair of layups in the run. 

The Continentals extended the lead to as many as 16 points with 3:33 remaining before McDaniel had eight unanswered points to cut the deficit back to eight points with 72 seconds remaining in the game.  Hamilton senior guard Jess Barrows (Old Saybrook, Conn.) hit a pair of free throws with 65 seconds left to extend the lead back out to double-digits for the final margin of victory.

Fasulo hit 10-of-13 shots from the floor and added a game-high 12 rebounds as the only Hamilton College player in double figures.  Barrows added seven points and three assists, while junior center Madelyn McGuinnis (Arlington Heights, Ill.) had seven points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench. 

For McDaniel, sophomore guard Ali Moreland (Davidsonville, Md.) led the Green Terror off the bench with 11 points and three rebounds, while senior guard Robbin Gregg (Oakland, Md.) added 10 points and two steals on the afternoon.  Junior forward Lauren Wyble (Severna Park, Md.) had a team-high 10 rebounds for McDaniel.

Kean hosts Hamilton in the championship game of the Cougar Classic at 3 p.m., while McDaniel squares off with Oneonta State in consolation game at 1 p.m.