Immaculata, Pa.—Sophomore center
Maddy Moro (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) recorded her fourth straight 'double-double' with 25 points and 18 rebounds and senior guard
Nina Hodanich (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) buried a key 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to lift Keystone College to a dramatic 67-66 victory over Immaculata University in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.
The win was the second straight for the Giants, now 6-17 overall and 5-9 in the CSAC, while Immaculata fell to 7-17 overall and 6-9 in league play.
Freshman forward
Samy Farah (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) came off the bench and chipped in 10 points for Keystone, which out-rebounded the Mighty Macs, 47-36, and held a 25-9 advantage in bench points. The Giants trailed 29-25 at halftime and 49-46 after three periods, but shot nearly 52 percent in the second half to pull out the victory. Freshman guard Theresa Kearney led the Mighty Macs with 25 points and eight rebounds and junior guard Amber Ballinger finished with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Farah came up big when the Giants needed it most, scoring six points during a 12-4 run midway through the fourth period that turned a 52-52 tie with 7:39 left into an 8-point Keystone lead with 1:55 remaining, 64-56. The Mighty Macs fought back behind five points by Kearney and a lay-up by Ballinger to cut the gap to one, 64-63, with 43 seconds remaining.
Hodanich, who finished with nine points, then buried a 3-pointer from the left perimeter on Keystone's next possession, but the Giants were far from out of the woods, however.
Kearney followed with a 3-pointer on Immaculata's next possession and Keystone committed a turnover with nine seconds left, setting up an opportunity for the Mighty Macs to win it on the game's final possession. Sophomore guard Annie Kohutka's 3-pointer from the left baseline, however, was wide of the mark as time expired.
Moro, who posted her eighth 'double-double' of the season, connected on 11 of 21 shots from the field and also came up with two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of action. In her last four games, she is averaging 15.8 points and 17.5 rebounds. Farah's 10-point effort was her seventh double-figure scoring output of the season.
For the game, Keystone held a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
The Giants will return home to play their final two games of the season, starting this Wednesday, February 14, against Centenary University at 6:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center in La Plume. On Saturday, February 17, Keystone will host Notre Dame of Maryland at 1:00 p.m. Prior to tip-off of Saturday's game, Hodanich will be honored as part of Senior Day festivities.
