Dec. 29, 2010

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, MD - Sophomore guard Ebonee Jones (Odenton, MD/Arundel) set a new career scoring mark for the second straight game, but the Explorers fell 73-53 to Liberty in the consolation game of the Terrapin Classic at Maryland's Comcast Center.

Jones poured in 20 points, including 12 in the second half, to surpass her career high of 18 set in yesterday's contest against Maryland. She did so on five field goals including three treys as well as 7-for-8 shooting from the free throw line. Jones added four rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal while playing 39 minutes.

Jones was named to the Terrapin Classic All-Tournament Team. She is joined by Maryland's Diandra Tchatchouang (MVP) and Lynetta Kizer, St. John's Da'Shena Stevens and Liberty's Devon Brown.

Ashley Gale (Glenside, PA/Cheltenham) added 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Her six treys set a new season mark for threes in a game, besting her own mark of five made set on three separate occasions. She also pulled down four rebounds, dished out four assists and registered a game-high five steals while playing all 40 minutes.

Chelsea Conner (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester) and Nikki Ortiz (Manchester, CT/Manchester) added a trey apiece as the Explorers sank 11 total on Wednesday. Those 11 threes set a new season number, as the team bested their previous mark of eight treys in a game set on three separate occasions.

Three Liberty players reached double figures, led by Devon Brown's 19 points. Emily Frazier sank 14 points and Avery Warley added 10. Warley registered a double-double, adding a game-best 14 rebounds to her 10 points.

The Flames (5-7) jumped out to a 12-5 lead at the 14:15 mark of the first half. The Explorers (4-8) responded with a 9-3 run, capped by a Jones three, to cut the deficit to one at 15-14. The Flames responded with a 16-3 run to push the score to 31-18 with 4:03 remaining in the half and ultimately took a 10-point lead into the break at 33-23.

Two Jones free throws with 18:07 left in the game put the score at 36-30, the closest the Explorers would get the rest of the game. Following Jones' pair of free throws, the Flames went on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes to push their lead to 21 and ultimately out of reach.

A Gale 3-pointer at 6:19 sparked a 12-4 Explorer run to cut a 22-point deficit down to 15 with 3:56 remaining before the final 73-53 score.

Twelve different Flames checked in over the course of the game, compared to the Explorers' seven available players.

The Explorers return to action after the new year, when they head to Lehigh on Sunday (1/2) for a 2:00 PM tip-off.