MEDFORD, Mass. (March 3, 2023) – The USMMA women's basketball team's season came to an end in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Tufts' Cousens Gymnasium with a 72-57 loss to the #18/21 Jumbos. The loss snapped the Mariners' 14-game winning streak, which is the new program record, while the victory for Tufts sent the 22-6 Jumbos to a Round of 32 matchup with Skidmore College tomorrow night. Merchant Marine's season ended with a 24-3 record.
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After going toe-to-toe with Tufts in the opening 10 minutes, the Mariners headed to the second quarter in a 19-19 tie. Sophomore
Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho) and senior
Lauren Hunter (Tinley Park Ill.) combined for 14 of the Mariners' 19 first-quarter points. A game-tying three from Jackson with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter sent USMMA into quarter number two with momentum on their side.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, the momentum was unable to be sustained or reclaimed. Playing on their home court, the Jumbos took control of the game in the middle frames and never looked back. Tufts outscored the Mariners 39-12 in the second and third quarter combined. Jumbos' leading scorer Maggie Russell led the way with a team-high 17 points, while Sam Sousa and Hannah Kelly chipped in 14 and 10 points respectively.
Down 58-31 after three quarters, the Mariners played hard all the way to the final buzzer, as Merchant Marine rattled off 26 points in the fourth quarter. Hunter, as you might expect, finished her career with her 21st and final double-double thanks to a game-high 21 points and 17 rebounds. Jackson was the other Mariner to reach double figures with 14 points.
Despite the loss, tonight's game did not end without a feel-good moment for the Mariners. Fresh off her All-Sportsmanship honors by the Skyline Conference, senior
Natalie Dorsey (Westminster, Md.) hit the contest's final shot, a foul line jumper with 29 seconds remaining. Led by senior
Madison Demos (Downers, Grove Ill.), the Mariners' bench jumped to their feet in celebration for their beloved teammate Dorsey playing in her final collegiate game.
The Mariners can now reflect on a memorable 2022-23 season that saw them reclaim the throne in the Skyline Conference, their third conference title in four seasons. Program records in wins with 24 and wins in a row with 14 were established as head coach
Matt Dempsey kept the Mariners' ship sailing throughout the season.
On the top of Coach Dempsey's to-do list this offseason will be the tall order of replacing the top two rebounders in program history: Hunter and Demos. Along with finishing second in program history in scoring average with 16.4 points per game, Hunter closed her career on top of the rebounding leaderboard with 915, while Demos finished second in program history with 844 boards.
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