IMMACULATA, Pa.- Hosting its first conference home playoff game since the 2014-15 season, fourth-seeded Immaculata dropped a heartbreaking 79-77 double overtime contest against fifth-seeded Marywood. The Pacers held Immaculata to one basket from the field in the final period to advance to Wednesday's semifinals.
Theresa Kearney led Immaculata (12-14) with 22 points as four more Mighty Macs joined her in double figures. Annie Kohutka and Brielle Rigo each scored 12 points while Jordan Rook and Kaitlyn Racobaldo scored 11 and 10 points respectively.
Olivia Kosin scored a game-high 26 points for the Pacers (9-15) while Aryah Aungst added 20 points in the win.
Defense was the theme of the first quarter as both teams limited the scoring attempts in the early going. Marywood's Savannah Purdy made a three and Emily Theobald hit a free throw as the Pacers led 10-5 with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
The Mighty Macs closed the quarter on a high note, going on a 9-0 run over the final three minutes to hold a 14-10 lead heading into the first quarter.
Kaitlyn Racobaldo extended the Immaculata lead to seven with a spurt off the bench. She scored five unanswered points by herself as Immaculata led 19-12 with 8:33 left in the first half.
The Pacers reversed fortunes from the first quarter and closed the second quarter on a 13-4 run over the final 5:48 of gameplay to hold a 32-29 lead at intermission.
Marywood benefited from the charity stripe and made 10-of-12 attempts during the first half. Both teams hovered around 35-percent shooting during the first 20 minutes while the Pacers made 2-of-9 from three.
The Pacers kept up the momentum in the start of the third with a 6-1 run, and had its biggest lead of the game at 38-30 at the eight-minute mark. The Macs would cut the deficit to three midway through the first quarter, but Marywood answered with a 6-0 run and led 44-35 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
Immaculata used a 15-5 spurt to close the quarter to regain the lead, as Immaculata led 50-49 heading into the fourth.
Both teams opened the fourth with a high tenacity on the defensive end, as Immaculata held a slim 53-52 lead at the eight minute mark. Emily Theobald made a layup to give the Pacers back the lead and Allison Bashore hit a three as the Pacers led 57-53 with seven minutes left in the game.
Jordan Rook ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Macs as it was 57-56 in favor of Marywood with 4:39 left.
Rook came up clutch for the Macs down the stretch and helped Immaculata take a lead in the final seconds. Her jumper with 38 seconds left gave the Macs a 63-61 lead. Jade Rolan answered for the Pacers and sent the game into overtime with a floater in the lane.
The drama continued into the extra period, as Marywood led 71-68 with 1:13 left after a pair of free throws. Morgan Falcone scored her first points of the game with 7.6 seconds left and buried a three to send the game into double overtime.
The Pacers pulled out the win with tough defense in double overtime, limiting the Mighty Macs to one last second field goal in the final frame. Free throw shooting proved to be the difference as the Pacers shot 71-percent (20-of-28) from the line while Immaculata struggled at 58-percent (15-of-26).
Immaculata finished with a successful season and recorded 12 wins on the year and went .500 in Atlantic East Action. The 12 wins in the 2019-20 season is the most since the 2014-15 season.
