Throggs Neck, NY – It was a thriller that went down to the last second, but when the buzzer sounded it was the Privateers who stood victorious for the first time this season by a one point margin 43-42 over the College of New Rochelle. Maritime was led by sophomore shooting guard Kristin Johnston (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa Academy) who scored a career high 14 points all in the second half, she also had five assists and four rebounds. Also the 43 points scored by Maritime is a school record since bringing back the program three years ago.

Senior point guard Kerri Herrmann (Central Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) (Central Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) had an overall solid game scoring 11 points, had a team high of nine rebounds, and her defense was astounding as she stole the ball four times and forced several other turnovers. Much like Johnston, Herrmann scored all her points in the second half as well, as a team the Privateers outscored New Rochelle 30-25 in the second. Junior forward Maha Aid (Flushing, NY/The Kew-Forrest School) helped keep the Privateers in the game during the first half, scoring all five of her points and had five of her seven rebounds in the half.

Even though the game remained close for a majority of the first half, the real action began to stir up in the second half. After having trailed by six points, the Privateers started a 10-0 run giving them a 37-33 lead with four minutes left in the game. Then at the 1:20 mark, New Rochelle tied things up on a lay-up by freshman center Ruchelle Austin (Sheepshead Bay) after coming back from a six point deficit. Austin finished the game with 12 points and 26 rebounds, both a team high for the Angels. 

Hermann was then sent to the line with only 1:01 left on the clock and the game still tied at 42. Herrmann would go 1-for-2 giving the Privateers a 43-42 lead and marked the last point that would be scored by either team for the rest of the game. New Rochelle would not get another shot off the rest of the game after the Privateer defense forced four straight turnovers.

It was a physical game resulting in 48 total fouls between both teams, and a total of five girls fouling out, most of which were early in the second half. Maritime lost three key components to its offense this way,  junior center Alissa Bello (Rockaway, NY/Poly Prep) (Rockaway, NY/Poly Prep), and freshmen forwards Marissa Webber-Bey (Far Rockaway, NY/Fashion) and Jeanette Golson (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech). Bello finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Webber-Bey and Golson had four rebounds a piece. In their absence, freshman Virginia Nye (City Island, NY/Cardinal Spellman) (City Island, NY/Cardinal Spellman) and newcomer Janelle Harden (Queens, NY) who played in her first game for the Privateers, put in some solid minutes and made a couple of big defensive plays. Nye had a huge offensive rebound with 47 seconds left allowing the Privateers to let more precious time tick away on the Angels. Playing the most time she has all season, Nye had three rebounds and one steal, while Harden added seven rebounds and had one steal in 28 minutes.     

The win improves Maritime to 1-12 on the year, while New Rochelle drops to 1-6 with their only win coming against Maritime in the first game of the year. The Privateers will return to action on Friday when the Raptors of Bard College come to town for a 5pm game in the first half of a double header.

-MARITIME-