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Skyline Conference Championship Tournament Bracket

OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) –  The SUNY College at Old Westbury women's basketball team trailed the entire first half and pulled out a 60-58 victory over the fifth-seeded Sage Gators at home to advance to the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament. Fourth-seeded Old Westbury will travel to the top-seeded Mount Saint Mary Knights on Thursday at 8 p.m. The win improved Old Westbury to 19-6 on the season, a single season record for eighth year Head Coach Michael Krasnoff while ending Sage's season at 10-14.

Old Westbury fell in an early hole as Sage jumped out to a quick 8-0 with 16:47 remaining on the first half clock. Kelsey Frament sank a pair of free-throws to give Sage a 10-2 lead. Old Westbury responded with a 16-8 run from 15:46 to 7:08 to knot the game at 18. Sage went on a mini 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead at 4:52. Old Westbury tied the game three times before heading into intermission down, 31-29.

Kim Weathers connected on a three-ball with 18:39 left in the second half for Old Westbury's first lead of the game, 35-33. Jessica Byerwalters banked in back-to-back layups to put Sage ahead 37-35 with 14 minutes remaining. Back-to-back jumpers by OW's Kim Weathers and Brittany Jones gave the Panthers the lead for good at 39-37. Old Westbury extended its lead to 45-37 when Deslyn Applewhaite scored six straight points for the largest lead of the game. Coming out of a timeout at 6:47, Sage outscored the Panthers 8-1 from 6:24 to 1:57 to pull within one points, 53-52. Kim Weathers countered with a three pointer at 1:29 to push the lead back to 56-52. Sarah Carciobolo connected on a triple with 52 ticks remaining in regulation to cut the deficit down to one. Brittany Jones hit the back end on a trip to the free-throw line to give Old Westbury 60-58 lead with eight seconds remaining. Ruth Vargas intercepted a pass with one second remaining to preserve the win for Old Westbury.

Kim Weathers poured in a game-high 27 points, including 3-of-5 from three-point territory to lead Old Westbury's scoring efforts. Weathers added four steals and four assists while Ruth Vargas followed with 13 points and three steals off the bench. DeAndra Scott pulled down a game-high nine rebounds (five offensive) while Brittany Jones added nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Deslyn Applewhaite chipped in with eight points and three steals.

Sarah Carciobolo shot 5-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 17 points to lead Sage in defeat. Kara Hackett contributed 15 points and seven rebounds while Chelsea Martin led the Gators with eight pull downs.

The Panthers shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the field, 42.9 percent (3-7) from three-point territory and 52.4 percent (11-21) from the free-throw line to get past the Gators. Sage hit 41.5 percent (22-53) from the field, including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (7-21) and 58.3 percent (7-12) from the charity stripe. Sage won the battle of the boards, 34-30, including 11-8 off the offensive glass, resulting in eight second chance points. Old Westbury outscored Sage 32-24 in the paint and converted 18 Gator turnovers into 23 points while Old Westbury's 24 giveaways turned into just six points for the visitors.

MOUNT SAINT MARY KNIGHTS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: The Panthers return to the hardwood on Thursday (Feb. 24) as the fourth seed when they hit the road to take on the top-seeded Mount Saint Mary Knights in the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament in Newburgh, New York. Game time is set to tip at 8 p.m. from the Kaplan Center.

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