The Lady Cavs extended their winning streak to 17 games and maintained a perfect record in the CSAC to finish up the regular season in a 66-40 win over Marywood University on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Nerney Field House.
Going undefeated in the CSAC has not been accomplished since the team of 1996-97 that finished 21-5 on the year. This season, the Lady Cavs are 22-3 and are looking to keep their win streak going as they progress into the CSAC playoffs. The Lady Cavs 17-game winning streak is the longest win streak since the 1996-97 team won 18 straight games.
The Cavs came out and fell behind very early in the game but a three by junior Brittany Sandone gave them a 5-4 lead and the Lady Cavs didn’t look back from there. Sandone went on to finish with 13 points and four steals.
As the first half came to a close, the Lady Cavs went on an 8-0 run off fast breaks to help propel them to a 35-21 lead at the break.
Cabrini’s defense was the strong point in the first half, forcing Marywood to shoot 7-for-29 from the field and forced 17 turnovers. The Lady Cavs offense shot 41 percent and had a lot of second-chance baskets with nine offensive rebounds after just 20 minutes of play.
The second half started and the Cavs didn’t take their foot off the gas as they opened the half with a 12-0 run keeping Marywood from scoring in the first 5 minutes.
At one point Marywood came within 18 points but the Lady Cavs then went on an 11-2 run and extended their lead to 27 with a score of 58-31 with a just over six minutes left in the game.
The Lady Cavs dominated the floor, forcing a season-high 30 turnovers and holding the Lady Pacers to just 26.8 percent shooting from the field.
The Lady Cavs also spread the ball around. Four players with at least 9 points in a complete team effort. Junior Annie Rivituso led the Cavs with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds recording her second double-double of the year. Sophomore Amber Keys came up just short of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds on the day. In her last regular season game for the Cavaliers, senior Laura Caron had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Lady Cavs’ hard work has earned them a bye into the semifinal round in the CSAC Tournament. The Lady Cavs are preparing to host Keystone College in the semi-final on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Nerney Field House.
