KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 22, 2022) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team headed into the Thanksgiving break on a high note with an impressive 68-41 victory over the Yeshiva Maccabees on Tuesday night. With the win, Matt Dempsey's squad improved to 3-0 overall (1-0 Skyline), while Yeshiva fell to 1-3 (1-2 Skyline) in defeat.
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Bryanne Buchanan-Cummings 

The name of the game for USMMA tonight was rebounding. Merchant Marine put on a rebounding clinic in a full 40-minute effort against their conference rival. Very quickly the Mariners have learned they have on three-handed monster on their team. Junior Bryanne Buchanan-Cummings, (Dacula, Ga.) senior Madison Demos, (Downers Grove, Ill.) and senior Lauren Hunter (Tinley Park, Ill.) have eaten offensive and defensive rebounds for breakfast to start the season.
 
Just how good has the trio been? In three games this season, the three have racked up a combined total of 107 rebounds. Tonight, the three tallied a combined 43 total boards. You know it was a good day at the office for coach Dempsey and Co. when three of your veteran players tallied more combined rebounds than the opposing team had points scored.
 
Hunter led the charge with 18 boards, 11 of which were offensive. Buchanan-Cummings and Demos followed with 15 and 10, respectively. But wait there is more. Rebounding was contagious tonight amongst the Mariners as they ripped down 40 offensive boards and 73 total rebounds. Those 40 offensive rebounds led to 28 second-chance points for USMMA.
 
Comparatively, USMMA out-rebounded Yeshiva 73-24 in total and 40-2 on the offensive glass. When a team secures more boards than they score points, they probably put forth a lights-out defensive effort. The Mariners did just that and then some.
 
In what was just an ordinary double-double day for Demos and Hunter, it was Buchanan-Cummings who ended up stuffing her cornucopia the most heading into Thanksgiving. To go along with her 15 boards, the junior tallied a career-high 25 points off the bench to notch a double-double of her own. A 10-for-16 night from the field for Buchanan-Cummings ignited the Mariners team as a whole. Leading comfortably late, the Mariners' bench was still on their feet for every strong-effort play.
 
Merchant Marine's astute rebounding fed right into their game plan of fearlessly attacking the basket. For the second0straight game, USMMA attempted 25 plus free-throws after going 19-for-28 against Coast Guard on Saturday. The Mariners tonight went a productive 18-for-25 from the charity stripe.  
 
In what was nearly a wire-to-wire Mariners victory, USMMA showed their depth on both ends of the floor. With Demos and Hunter dominating in the interior and Buchanan-Cummings available as a secondary option, the Mariners were once again able to play their relentless style for 40 minutes.
 
The other positive? Outside shots from sophomore Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho) and sophomore Kaira Winston (Chesterfield, Va.) did not need to be as heavily relied upon. After Jackson and Winston combined for 43 points on Saturday, contributions of all shapes and sizes came against the Maccabees tonight as all 13 Mariners on the roster received playing time.
 
After the Mariners eat up on Thanksgiving, they will look eat up more rebounds against the Manhattanville Valiants next Tuesday night, Nov. 29, at the Liebertz Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. as USMMA looks to keep the good times rolling. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Women's Basketball Schedule Page.
 
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