MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – A second quarter run by Division II Barry University was enough as the Skidmore College women's basketball team fell to the Buccaneers by a 74-45 score in the opening game of the HoopMIA Holiday Shootout, at the Health and Sports Center Monday afternoon.
Skidmore drops to 4-4, and will close the tournament out against Gettysburg on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Barry improves to 10-2 in the fall semester finale.
The Division II hosts held the Thoroughbreds to a season-low 27.3 percent shooting from the field, while shooting 49.2 percent from the field. Barry also tallied nine blocks, outscoring Skidmore in the paint by a 32-16 margin.
Kelly Donnelly led the Thoroughbreds in the contest, shaking off a slow start to finish with a team-high 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting, adding six rebounds.
Veronica Moceri finished with nine points, all on 3-pointers.
Haley English and
Caite Opfer each tallied seven points.
Harriet Swindells led the Buccaneers with 17 points, one of four double-digit scorers. Kiara Palmer added 10 points and nine rebounds.
It was an evenly matched opening quarter between the two teams, with three ties and four lead changes in the first 10 minutes.
Veronica Moceri sank a 3-pointer at the 4:49 mark and
Lilly Berg hit a jumper 39 seconds later to take an early 7-4 lead. Berg also converted on the layup, giving the Thoroughbreds a 12-9 lead with 49 seconds left.
The second quarter saw Barry outscore Skidmore by a 20-9 margin, taking a 35-21 lead into the locker rooms for halftime. The Buccaneers kept their offense going to begin the second half, pulling away to outscore the Thoroughbreds by a 39-24 score.
"Today we played a pretty complete team that was able to put a legitimate scorer on the floor with every substitution they put in," said Skidmore coach
Darren Bennett. "We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in and we wanted our team to compete and grow and we did that in some ways and have some places that we can still grow. Our rebounding efforts especially on the offensive end were solid and our passing to interior players looked good as well, which is something we've been working on.
"These are games that will clearly prepare us for the next step in our season. We are blessed and excited to be on a team trip where we can grow, continue to mesh as a team and enjoy the experiences that come with being together for a few days in Miami."
