Frostburg Hands Stevenson 51-47 Home Opening Loss
STEVENSON, Md. - Frostburg State totaled 70 rebounds, including 40 offensive which led to 22 second chance points, to help the Bobcats overcome their 21.7 percent shooting from the floor as they handed Stevenson a 51-47 loss Tuesday night at Student Union Gymnasium.
Frostburg (1-0) also shot 49 free throws and held a plus-31 edge in rebounds while scoring eight of the game's final 11 points in the last 2:30 after the Mustangs took their first lead of the game, 44-43.
Mercedes White led the Bobcats with 10 points and 10 rebounds as she was one of three players in double figures for Frostburg. Caryn Wright had 12 boards and Shanell Williams added 10 as the trio combined for 20 offensive rebounds.
Sophomore Denita Brown (Laurel/Montrose Christian) had eight points and nine rebounds for Stevenson (0-2) who trailed by as many as 18 before taking a one-point lead with under three minutes remaining.
Down by eight with 6:36 left, the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run over the next 4:06 to take a 44-43 advantage after back-to-back layups by freshman Breonna Brewer (Baltimore/Polytechnic).
However, a three-point play by Williams just 17 seconds later put the Bobcats back in front for good, despite a layup by senior Ashley Burrell (Baltimore/Institute of Notre Dame) that cut the Frostburg lead back to one with 31 seconds to play.
Poor free throw shooting by the Bobcats kept the Mustangs in the game as the visitors were 7-of-24 from the line in the second half. including 6-of-12 in the final two-and-a -half minutes.
Leading 46-45, Frostburg missed six consecutive free throw attempts in a span of 53 seconds, but Stevenson could not capitalize, missing its only shot from the field while committing three fouls and one turnover.
Following Burrell's layup with 31 seconds remaining, the Mustangs did not get another shot attempt while committing five fouls. During that time, the Bobcats hit three of eight free throw attempts, including three of their final four in the last four seconds to seal the victory.
Brewer finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in defeat and was one of four Mustangs to foul out in the final 1:32. Freshman Qiana Coleman (Ellicott City/Mount Hebron) and freshman Joy Bettis (Laurel/Montrose Christian) each had nine points.
Stevenson returns to action on Friday when it faces Rosemont in the opening game of the College of Notre Dame (Md.) Tournament. Game time is at 6:00 p.m.
