Brandywine Falls Short In Overtime At Rosemont

ROSEMONT, Pa. -- Penn State Brandwine rallied from a 13-point deficit with eight minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime, but came up short during the extra session as Rosemont posted an 83-80, overtime victory over the Lions during both teams' women's basketball season-openers on Wednesday night.

Rosemont built a 64-51 edge at the 8:04 mark of the fourth quarter, but Brandywine held the Ravens to just seven points during the remainder of the quarter and Crystal Miller's (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) putback layup with one second to play in regulation forced overtime.

Kendra Stanford (Philadelphia, Pa./William Bodine) got the Lions' comeback started by canning a jumper and Madison D'Ambrosio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) followed with a pair of free throws. After two Rosemont free throws, Brandywine answered with baskets from Miller and D'Ambrosio and a free throw from Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City), making the score 66-60 with 4:05 to go.

The Ravens' lead was seven points with 1:33 remaining, but Velez and Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) sank back-to-back layups and Stanford drained two free throws with 12 ticks left on the clock to make the deficit just one.

Forced to foul, Brandywine saw Rosemont sink one-of-two free throws, making the margin two points with seven seconds to play. Velez missed a layup on the Lions' ensuing possession, but Miller cleaned up the boards, putting down a putback shot just before the buzzer to extend the game an extra five minutes.

Taking advantage of Brandywine foul trouble in overtime, Rosemont connected on five free throws during the first half of the extra session, building a 77-74 advantage. The teams traded baskets before a D'Ambrosio triple brought Brandywine back to within one at 81-80 with 34 seconds to play.

Ayanna Thompson made two free throws with 11 ticks on the clock and Brandywine's final three point attempt was off as the Ravens held off the Lions for the three-point victory.

D'Ambrosio coupled a career-high 20 points with 10 rebounds to record her first-career double-double. She sank 9-of-10 shots from the free throw line and made a trio of triples.

James, Stanford and Velez also reached double figures in scoring as James and Stanford each collected 10 points, while Velez, who played all 45 minutes, recorded 12 points. James hauled in eight rebounds, while Velez added five boards and four assists.

In her collegiate debut, Miller posted nine points and seven rebounds.

Rosemont received 37 points from its reserves, including a 16-point performance from Shawn Dowd and 14 points from Jayme Byers.

Brandywine looks to bounce back on Saturday when it opens the Neumann University Tournament against the host Knights at 1:00 PM.