ARLINGTON, Va. - Jacquelyne Pizzuto hit the game-winner with seven seconds left on the clock as the Haverford College women's basketball team edged The College of New Jersey, 50-49, to claim the championship of the Marymount University Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday night.
TCNJ's Kylie O'Donnell had given the Lions (1-1) a one-point lead on a conventional three-point play with 13 seconds left in regulation. O'Donnell's bucket provided the seventh lead change of the second half but it wouldn't be the last. TCNJ called a timeout to set up the defense and when play resumed Pizzuto found a lane at the top of the key. Pizzuto drove past the defense and lifted a floater that found the bottom of the net. The winning bucket gave the junior point guard, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, 11 points on the night to go along with her five rebounds and three assists. The Lions did not get a shot attempt off in the waning seconds due to the Haverford defense.
Also earning a spot on the all-tournament team, junior Elizabeth Lynch paced the Fords (2-0) in scoring with 16 points.
A three-pointer by Kelly Coughlin gave the Lions a six-point lead, 37-31, with 12 minutes to go in the contest. Haverford answered from distance as Pizzuto and Lynch drained back-to-back threes to forge the fifth tie of the night. The two teams continued to battle over the remainder of the game as neither team would lead by more than two points over the final 10 minutes of play. A baseline three-pointer by Lynch with 17 seconds left put the Fords up two, but after O'Donnell answered with three points of her own, it was Pizzuto who delivered the final points of the night.
TCNJ got off to a fast start in the contest as it scored nine of the first 11 points. Haverford fought back to tie the score at 14-14 on a three-point play by Hope Rainey at 10:22. Another three-point play from Pizzuto at 4:44 pushed the Fords ahead by four before they settled for a one-point advantage (25-24) at the the break.
Haverford nailed seven three-pointers in the game, including six in the second half, to finish the weekend with 15 made shots from behind the arc.
The Fords did a great job hitting the boards in the contest as they limited the Lions to just eight offensive rebounds and outrebounded TCNJ 37-30 overall. All nine Haverford players that saw action registered at least one rebound.
O'Donnell, the lone player to reach double figures for the Lions, was also named to the all-tournament team after leading all scorers on the night with 22 points. Other members of the all-tournament squad included Marymount's Katelyn Fischer and Lynchburg College's Shannon Allan.
The Fords return to action on Nov. 23 when they open their Centennial Conference slate at Dickinson College at 4 p.m.