KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2025) – The top-seeded USMMA women's basketball team is headed to its fifth Skyline Championship Game in the last six seasons after the Mariners used a strong second-half effort to defeat visiting #4-seed Farmingdale State, 70-52, on Thursday night inside of a loud Liebertz Gymnasium. Merchant Marine won its 23rd-straight game to tie the program record for victories in a season, as they improve to 24-1, while the Rams close out the season with an 18-9 record.
Game Links
Three players scored in double-digits for the Mariners, as freshman
Carolae Barton (Waldorf, Md.) picked up a double-double with a team-high 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds, junior
Hannah Ramsden (Port Aransas, Texas) bEmily Grasseler (Millbrook, N.Y.) also notched a double-double with 10 points, while also leading all players with 14 rebounds.
Rounding out the starters for USMMA, senior
Abby Stramski (Jones, Okla.) contributed nine points and classmate
Kaira Winston (Chesterfield, Va.) scored eight.
The Mariners struggled against the Rams' defense on in-bound plays in the first half, especially on a full-court press, as Merchant Marine finished the first 20 minutes with 10 turnovers. However FSC suffered futility from the field, as they only hit 28.5% of their shots, so the visitors were not able to build a big advantage.
The two teams traded leads a total of seven times in the first two quarters. The score was also tied five separate times, including when the halftime buzzer sounded with the game knotted up at 25-25.
A quick 3-pointer by Ramsden set the tone for the second half. The Mariners used an 8-0 run early on to take its largest lead to that point, 38-29, after a jumper by Ramsden at 5:09. The Rams got back to within five points twice, but USMMA was able to hold them at bay and led by nine at the end of the third, 48-39.
Another early bucked by Ramsden in the fourth gave Merchant Marine a double-digit lead, 50-39, which it did not give up the remainder of the night. The advantage quickly ballooned up to 21 points, 64-43, after a 16-4 run to start the fourth for the Mariners, helping the hosts cruise to the victory.
For the Rams, senior Gemma Pohalski led all players with 20 points, while sophomore Taneece Wooden drained 12 and senior Alexandria Walbroehl scored 11 points and brought down a team-best seven rebounds.
The Mariners will face the #2-seed Mount St. Mary in the Skyline Championship Game this Saturday, March 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 12-noon at the Liebertz Gymnasium. Once again, tickets will be required for entrance into the gym for the Championship Game. They are available online only
at this link.
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