DAVIE, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers chased down the Midwestern State Mustangs 82-69 in the final round of the NSU/Marriott Tip-Off Classic at NSU's University Center Arena Saturday afternoon.
The first half was a topsy-turvy affair, with both teams making extended runs. The Mustangs (0-2) jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first five minutes, but the Bucs (2-0) stormed back over the next two minutes to take a 10-9 lead, capped by Princess Bailey’s layup at 13:09. The Bucs went on to build an 18-13 lead at 9:57 on a short jumper from Kristy Singletary.
Brandi Moore led MSU back on top with back-to-back three-pointers, then capped a 12-0 run with a pair of free throws to put the Mustangs up 25-18 at the 7:15 mark.
Once again, it was the Bucs’ turn to make a run and they closed to 27-27 at the 3:33 mark when Christina Thompson drained her third three-pointer of the half.
After trading baskets to 29-29, the Mustangs had the last word of the period with a 7-0 run, keyed by pair of Buccaneer turnover in the final minute. Midwestern took a 36-29 lead into the break.
Things did not improve for the Bucs coming out of the locker room. Moore drained a three-pointer and Kaylon Hodge hit a free throw to give the Mustangs their biggest lead of the game at 40-29 with 19:17 remaining.
The Bucs began to chip away at the lead until Ratisha Rumph dropped a pair of free throws at the 7:59 mark that cut it to 58-57. Half a minute later, Grace Paul flipped in a three-pointer and the Bucs regained the lead 62-60.
Barry out-scored the Mustangs 20-7 over the final seven minutes, taking their biggest lead of 14 points on a Kia Palmer layup at 2:24 before settling for the 13-poin win.
The trio of Singletary, Martinez and Bailey powered the 53-point outburst in the second half. Singletary had 15 of her game-high 21 points in the period, while Martinez and Bailey each chipped in 13 points. Barry, which had shot a respectable 46.4 percent from the floor in the first half, blistered the nets at a 72.0 percent clip (18-for-25) in the second half, while holding MSU to just 33.3 percent shooting.
In addition to Singletary’s 21, which is also a career-high, Martinez also had a personal best with 19 points, Bailey contributed 17 points and Christina Thompson, who kept the Bucs afloat in the first half, finished with 12. Thompson and Martinez also led the Bucs’ rebounding efforts with eight each.
Moore and Brittni Morrison each had 16 points for MSU, while Hodge and Stacey Staten had 10 points each.
Bailey was named the tournament's most valuable player, while teammate Thompson joined her on the all-tournament team. The rest of the squad were Crystal Ahmed (Guard, Lynn), Jade Williams (Guard, Lynn), Brandy Moore (Guard, Midwestern State), and Ashley Wilson (Guard, Nova Southeastern).
Barry will open its home schedule on Monday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 pm taking on the Janes of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 5;30 pm.
Newspaper Box Score
Barry vs Midwestern State
11/17/07 2:00pm at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (University Center)
At Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (University Center)
BARRY 82, MIDWESTERN STATE 69
BARRY (2-0)
SINGLETARY, Kristy 9-13 0-0 21; MARTINEZ, Lucy 7-11 3-4 19; BAILEY, Princess
7-12 1-1 17; THOMPSON, Christina 4-7 0-0 12; PAUL, Grace 1-1 2-2 5; PALMER,
Kia 2-2 0-0 4; MAGEEAN, Amanda 1-3 0-0 2; RUMPH, Ratisha 0-1 2-2 2;
O'MALLEY, Tara 0-1 0-0 0; FORS, Lisa 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-53 8-9 82.
MIDWESTERN STATE (0-2)
MOORE, Brandy 5-12 3-3 16; MORRISON, Brittni 6-12 0-0 16; STATEN, Stacey 2-7
6-7 10; HODGE, Kaylon 4-10 2-4 10; COOK, Tiffany 2-5 5-6 9; OFOEGBU, Rosy
2-6 1-1 5; BUBEN, Andrea 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 22-54 17-21 69.
Barry.................................... 29 53 - 82
Midwestern State.............. 36 33 - 69
3-point goals--Barry 12-24 (THOMPSON, Christina 4-5; SINGLETARY, Kristy 3-4;
MARTINEZ, Lucy 2-6; BAILEY, Princess 2-6; PAUL, Grace 1-1; FORS, Lisa 0-2),
Midwestern State 8-17 (MORRISON, Brittni 4-7; MOORE, Brandy 3-6; BUBEN,
Andrea 1-2; STATEN, Stacey 0-2). Fouled out--Barry-None, Midwestern
State-None. Rebounds--Barry 28 (MARTINEZ, Lucy 8; THOMPSON, Christina 8),
Midwestern State 26 (STATEN, Stacey 5; OFOEGBU, Rosy 5). Assists--Barry 20
(MARTINEZ, Lucy 4; BAILEY, Princess 4; MAGEEAN, Amanda 4), Midwestern State
13 (STATEN, Stacey 4). Total fouls--Barry 17, Midwestern State 13. Technical
fouls--Barry-None, Midwestern State-None. A-82