Game Recap: wbball | Mar 07 59 LIU Brooklyn 13-17 (8-10 NEC) 56 St. Francis Brooklyn 13-17 (9-9 NEC) Score By Periods Team 1 2 3 4 Total LIU Brooklyn 14 15 14 16 59 St. Francis Brooklyn 12 15 18 11 56 Box Score Full Schedule Roster Next Game: at Robert Morris 3/8/2018 - 7:00 p.m. Women's Basketball Beats SFBK, 59-56, Reaches NEC Semis MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. --- The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball survived a hard-fought battle with borough rival St. Francis Brooklyn to earn a 59-56 victory in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday evening at Robert Morris' North Athletic Complex. LIU, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, will face No. 2 seed and host RMU on Thursday, March 8 at 7 p.m. with a spot in the NEC Championship on the line. The game will air on ESPN3 and NEC Front Row. Three Blackbirds scored in double figures, led by senior DeAngelique Waithe's game-high 19 points. Waithe also pulled down 12 rebounds to pace all players and logged her 12th double-double of the season. Graduate transfer Denisha Petty-Evans put up 16 points and freshman Jeydah Johnson added ten to help the Blackbirds move on. After SFBK (13-17) scored the first basket of the game and held their advantage for a shade over two minutes, LIU (13-17) used an 8-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the half. However, fending off their crosstown foes would not be an easy task for the Blackbirds. After the second of two three-pointers by sophomore Seneca Richards gave LIU their 8-2 edge at the 6:08 mark of the first quarter, St. Francis brought the Blackbirds' lead down to two or fewer points six times before halftime. A pair of Terrier free throws with eight seconds left in the half set the final occurrence, sending the game into intermission with LIU holding a 29-27 lead. With LIU controlling the first half, SFBK took its shot as the second half began. The Terriers used an 18-7 surge over the opening seven minutes of the third quarter to build the largest lead of the game, 43-34. The Blackbirds would not waver, though, as Petty-Evans, Watihe, Johnson, and senior Stylz Sanders combined to carry LIU on a 9-2 run to send the game into the fourth with a 45-43 score in favor of St. Francis. With the possibility of only ten more minutes remaining in their season, LIU proceeded to go to work. St. Francis hit three free throws to begin the period and push their lead to 48-43 with eight minutes remaining but a three from Johnson and a jumper from Petty-Evans tied the game (48-48) for the first time since the 5:57 mark of the third. SFBK would score on their next possession but were matched again with two Waithe free throws that knotted the game at 50-50 with two and a half minutes to go. There was only one lead change in the final ten minutes, and LIU caused it when it mattered most. After Waithe's free throws, LIU forced a missed three-pointer on the Terriers' next trip and Johnson nailed what proved to be the game-winner shot with 1:33 left on the clock. SFBK continued to linger around and kept it a one-possession game until the final seconds when Sanders corralled an offensive rebound in traffic and hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left (57-53) after being fouled. Petty-Evans knocked down two more free throws (59-53) before the Terriers hit a late three with the game already decided. OTHER NOTES LIU's win was the program's 15th in NEC Tournament play (15-19 in 21 appearances) and first since March 7, 2010 when the Blackbirds defeated Central Connecticut 61-55 in the NEC semifinals. The Blackbirds also avenged their only loss to St. Francis Brooklyn in NEC Tournament play, a 68-51 quarterfinals defeat back on March 3, 2007. Waithe's 12 double-doubles are the most in a season by a Blackbird since Ashley Palmer recorded 13 back in 2008-09. Waithe added two blocks to her stat line and now has 57 for the year. She only needs three more to tie the LIU single-season record set by Ebony Davis in 2011-12. She can also surpass Tamika Dudley (279 rebounds) for tenth on the single-season with ten more rebounds. After tonight's game, Waithe currently sits at 270. Freshman Tia Montagne hit her season-best in steals for the second time against the Terriers (4) while setting a new mark for blocks with three. Her previous marks came versus Mount St. Mary's on January 15 (four steals) and against Bryant on March 2 (two blocks). Petty-Evans extended her second-longest double-digit scoring streak of the season to seven games with her performance against SFBK. Her longest run was the 15-game stretch she recorded to open the campaign. LIU's victory was the only seeded upset of the quarterfinal round. No. Saint Francis defeated No. Fairleigh Dickinson 89-70; No. 2 Robert Morris beat No. 7 CCSU 60-54; and No. 4 Sacred Heart routed No. 5 Bryant 80-63. HEAD COACH STEPHANIE DEL PREORE POSTGAME COMMENTS "We talked about making the extra pass and having them (SFBK) work a bit more defensively. Our seniors stepped up. DeAngelique Waithe with a double-double with some huge offensive rebounds. We got some big performances from our freshmen, too. Tia (Montagne) played great defensively, Jeydah (Johnson) made a huge basket down the stretch. It was all about effort and playing for each other." Players Mentioned Bio Seneca Richards #20 G 5' 11" So. Bio Stylz Sanders #30 G/F 5' 9" Sr. Bio DeAngelique Waithe #10 F 6' 0" Sr. Bio Jeydah Johnson #0 G 5' 10" Fr. Bio Tia Montagne #5 G 5' 8" Fr. Bio Denisha Petty-Evans #15 G 5' 10" Gr.