UNION, N.J. (3/7/08) - Junior guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) scored a season-high 29 points, including 21 in the second half, to lead the Kean University women's basketball team to a 83-76 victory over Utica College in the first round of the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament on Friday evening. The 11th-ranked Cougars (26-3) face Brandeis University, a 74-71 winner over University of Southern Maine, on Saturday evening in Harwood Arena at 6 p.m.

Freshman guard Devon Croll (Vernon, N.Y.) led the Pioneers (17-11) with 19 points and six rebounds.

Beyruti (pictured right) scored 16 points in the opening 6:08 of the second half as the Cougars erased a 33-31 halftime deficit and built a 12-point advantage at 51-39 with 13:52 remaining. Kean extended the lead to as many as 19 points (71-52) on a three-point play by sophomore guard Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) with 6:48 left in the game.

The Pioneers cut the deficit back to single digits, knocking down 9-of-11 free throws in the final minutes to keep the game within striking distance. Utica trimmed the Cougar lead eight points with 2:20 remaining and would eventually trim the Cougar lead to seven points with 25 seconds left and again on a lay-up by sophomore forward Jessica Berry (Rome, N.Y.) with nine seconds left to put the final margin at 83-76.

In a first half that featured nine lead changes and two ties, the Cougars built their largest lead of the half on a lay-up by Beyruti with 6:14 left in the opening half. Utica answered with nine straight points to take a 30-27 lead with 2:13 left and senior guard Karen Crisanti (Geneva, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to take the 33-31 lead into intermission.

Beyruti led the Cougars with eight points in the first half, while junior guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) had seven points and three assists. Crisanti had 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the Pioneers in the first half.

Jackson (pictured left), who finished with 11 points, became the program's all-time leader in career assists, as her seven assists give her 472 for her career, breaking the mark of 465 held by Crystal Gadsen.

Senior center Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) finished with a game-high 17 rebounds and nine points, while freshman forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway, N.J.) had her second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Croll led four players in double-figures, as she finished 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Berry had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while junior guard Mallory Davis (Vernon-Rockville, Conn.) added 16 points and nine rebounds. Crisanti rounded out the Utica players in double-figures with 11 points and nine rebounds.