WASHINGTON – Gallaudet University's playoff hopes for the United East Conference women's basketball tournament took a hit Wednesday as the Bison dropped a 73-59 decision to St. Mary's College of Maryland in the Field House on Black History Month night.
 
Gallaudet (7-15, 6-7 United East) sits in sixth place in the United East with Penn College (8-5) and Lancaster Bible (7-6) ahead of them with three games left for all. The 14-point win tonight clinched a playoff berth for St. Mary's (15-6, 11-2 United East), who is tied with SUNY Morrisville (11-2) for first place.
 
The Bison and Seahawks played a close first half as St. Mary's led 18-16 after the first 10 minutes of play and Gallaudet held a 15-11 edge in the second quarter to take a 31-29 lead into halftime.
 
During halftime, Evon J. Black, '87 & G-'96, the Associate Director of the Center for Black Deaf Studies at GU presented to the crowd about Black Deaf History and the Kendall School Division II Memorial project. The Memorial for Louise B. Miller is at the heart of this project, honoring her historic role in the civil rights movement that stems from her addressing educational inequality for Black Deaf children in Washington, DC. You can donate to the memorial here: https://gallaudet.edu/fund/giving-campaigns/louise-b-miller-fund/.
 
In the second half, Gallaudet built its largest lead to six, 40-34, after a made layup by freshman guard Olivia Brown (St. Augustine, Fla.) on a fast break play with a nice outlet pass from junior guard Rajena Guettler (Frederick, Md.).
 
GU turned the ball over twice and missed the next five shots from the field as that allowed the Seahawks back into the game. The Bison lead went up in smoke in a matter of minutes as St. Mary's scored nine straight points during a two-minute span to take a 43-40 lead.
 
The Seahawks never trailed again as they built a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Bison, 18-8, during the last eight minutes of play.
 
Junior forward Cassidy Perry (Frederick, Md.) scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. Perry matched her season-high four steals for the fifth time this season.
 
Guettler added 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while freshman Bree Goldstein (Riverside, Calif.) chipped in eight points. Sophomore forward Hannah Puent (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded six points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Brown had five points and four boards. The Bison received no points for their bench.
 
St. Mary's had three players in double figures led by Tramarie Mobray's 20 points off the bench and Karon Williams' 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals performance. Amira Whitaker was the third St. Mary's player in double digits with 12 points as they won an eighth straight game. The Seahawks made 12 3-pointers, the second most surrendered by Gallaudet's defense in a game this season.
 
UP NEXT
Gallaudet will hit the road for its last regular-season road game this Saturday, Feb. 11, at Penn State Harrisburg (13-9, 10-3 United East) for a 1 p.m. conference game.