Women's Basketball

BEYRUTI, TEAM HONORED WITH MONTHLY AWARDS

UNION, N.J. (3/1/07) - Sophomore Melissa Beyruti was tabbed the female athlete of the month while women's basketball was selected as the team of the month for February, announced today.

Sophomore guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.), has been selected for as the female athlete of the month for February. This is the second straight month for Beyruti with this honor.

Beyruti had a memorable month, capping off February's final game with the game-winning bucket with time expiring to help her team claim the 2006-07 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship. With the score tied at 59-all, and just 6.3 seconds left on the clock, she took a pass from sophomore Ebony Jackson and released the ball with just tenths of a second left and sealed the win with her fifth three-pointer of the afternoon. The win gave the Cougars the NJAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NJAC title was also the 11th for the program, a league best.

In the final regular season game at Rutgers-Camden, she also set the new Kean University women's basketball program standard for career three-pointers, with 153 in just two seasons.

She competed and started all seven games during the month of February, averaging over 38 minutes per game. She recorded 120 points, for an average of over 17 per game, 21 treys, 24 assists as well as 14 steals.

The Kean University women's basketball team has been selected as the team of the month for February. Women's basketball, also selected during the month of January, capped off a tremendous regular season by claiming the 2006-07 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship in dramatic fashion.

Kean defeated William Paterson University, 62-59, on Saturday, February 24th to claim this year's crown for the programs league-leading 11th time. Sophomore Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) broke a 59 point tie with the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer for the dramatic finish of conference play. Senior Ebony Allen (Camden, N.J.) also played a key role, recording a game-high 22 points, including two critical free throws with under 20 seconds remaining. Allen was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe while also bringing down 10 rebounds. Junior Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) also had a big game, grabbing 11 rebounds of her own.

Kean's final home game of the season was on February 22nd as they took on The College of New Jersey in the NJAC semifinals. This was the fourth meeting of the teams this season. The Cougars were victorious by the final score of 79-68. Allen proved key again with a game-high 21 points. Beyruti kept up her season average providing 17 points, as well as five treys. Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) recorded 16 points and nine assists while Cooper collected 13 rebounds. 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 second half.

Overall in the month, the Cougars averaged over 74 points per game while tallying six wins. Kean also held a positive 10.4 rebounding margin.