Women's Basketball

KEAN ADVANCES TO NJAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME; DEFEAT TCNJ, 79-68, IN NJAC SEMIS

UNION, N.J. (2/22/07) - Senior forward Ebony Allen (Camden, N.J.) scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Kean University women's basketball team to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Game after defeating The College of New Jersey, 79-68, in the NJAC Semifinals on Thursday evening.

The Cougars face William Paterson University, a 64-55 winner over Rutgers-Newark,for the NJAC title on Saturday, February 24, in Wayne, N.J. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led the Lions (13-14) with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Both teams battled in the first half with Kean controlling the lead for all but 25 seconds. With a slim 10-9 lead at 13:33, the Cougars used a 9-2 run to widen the gap. Sophomore Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) drilled two treys in the run while freshman Alysha Taylor (Galloway, N.J.) netted a three of her own. TCNJ battled back and would tie the score on two occasions on jumpers by Sara Best (High Bridge, N.J.) and Chrissie Beha (Washington, N.J.).

At the break the Cougars led 29-27. Beyruti led Kean with nine points while junior Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) brought down six rebounds.

Best led the Lions with eight points and eight rebounds while freshman Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, N.J.) had eight points of her own.

With the score at 38-36, the Cougars used a 9-0 run early in the second half to take control. Freshman Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) led the surge with a layup at 16:45 followed by back-to-back jumpers by Allen. Kean led by as many as 16 points in the half.

Beyruti finished with 17 points, including five from behind the arc, while Cooper finished with a game high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) recorded 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Jackman rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11.

Freshman Nicole Diaz (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J.) recorded 11 points for the Lions in the lost.