GRANTHAM, Pa. (3/2/07) -Junior forward Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) grabbed the 1000th rebound of her career and sophomore guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) scored a team-high 15 points, as the Kean University women's basketball team defeated Keuka College, 62-51, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Messiah College on Friday evening.Cooper and senior forward Chi Clark (Maplewood, N.J.) each finished with a double-double for Kean (25-3). The 25 wins ties the second-highest total in school history and is the most since 1986-87, when the squad finished 27-4.
Junior forward Pam Gardner (Caledonia, N.Y.) led the Storm (18-8) with a game-high 24 points and added 13 rebounds.
The Cougars took an early 9-5 lead, as senior forward Chi Clark (Maplewood, N.J.) came off the bench to score four points in the opening four minutes. Keuka responded with an 11-2 run on the strength of nine points by junior forward Pam Gardner (Caledonia, N.Y.) to take a 16-11 lead with 13:46 left in the opening half.
Beyruti knocked down back-to-back three-pointers, the second of which gave her 100 for the season, as Kean regained the lead at 17-16. The Cougars extended the lead to nine points at 29-20, as Clark and Cooper each scored five points. Keuka cut the deficit to four points at 30-26 before the Cougars scored the final nine points of the opening half, and took their largest lead of the half into the lockerroom with the 13-point advantage at 39-26.
In the opening 20 minutes, Beytruti knocked down four three-pointers to lead the way with 12 points, while Clark added nine points and five rebounds off the bench.
Gardner paced the Storm with 10 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Abby Brewer (Ovid, N.Y.). had six points and four rebounds.
In the second-half, Kean extended the lead to as many as 16 points with 12:00 minutes left in the contest on a jumper by freshman Alysha Taylor (Galloway, N.J.). Keuka cut the deficit to single digits and puller within six points with 65 seconds remaining on a free throw by senior guard Alison Berwanger (Silver Springs, N.Y.), however the Cougars hit 5-of-8 foul shots to seal the 11-point victory and advance to the second round.
For the game, Clark had 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, while senior forward Ebony Allen (Camden, N.J.) added 11 points in 17 minutes for Kean. Sophomore guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) chipped in with nine points and dished out a game-high four assists.
Cooper reached the rebounding milestone early in the second half with a defensive board just 3:43 into the half. The double-double was the 11th of the season and the 34th of her career.
Also in double-figures for the Storm, Berwanger closed out her collegiate career with 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the North Eastern Athletic Conference Champions.
