UMBC

Brooklyn, NY - Despite receiving 30 points from senior Shalayna Johnson, UMBC (6-10, 3-4 NEC) fell to Long Island (6-10, 4-2), 62-58 in a Northeast Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Schwartz Center.

The Blackbirds scored nine straight points over four minutes to take a 46-35 lead with 14:10 left. Winston tallied five points in that run and senior Tamika Dudley (Woodbridge, VA) capped it with a layup.

Down 48-38 with 13:26 left, UMBC rode the play of Shalayna Johnson as it used an 18-5 spurt for a 56-53 cushion with 3:51 to play. Johnson scored nine of her game-high 30 points during that span.

But LIU would come through for its sixth win in eight outings as it closed the contest on a 9-2 spurt, beginning when junior Jessica Brookes (Ocean City, NJ) drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:33 left for a 56-56 tie.

Dudley gave LIU a 58-56 lead with 2:43 left with a layup, but Lara Seamon answered with a jumper for a tie game with 2:21 to play.

Freshman Erin Pinchbeck (Albany, NY) has played solidly in the clutch most of this season and today was no exception. She hit a jumper with 1:59 left to put the Blackbirds up for good, 60-58, and came up with a critical steal after Johnson rebounded her own miss for the Retrievers.

Pinchbeck grabbed a rebound after Johnson missed a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. Following a series of fouls, Winston went to the stripe with 17 ticks left and calmly sank both attempts in a one-and-one situation to close the scoring.

Dudley shook off two straight single-figure outings, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds over 40 minutes. Brookes added 10 and five with a pair of 3-pointers for LIU, which shot 41 percent (23-of-56) overall.

Johnson shot 10-of-27 from the floor and 6-of-14 from beyond the arc to help UMBC hit 42 percent (22-of-53) overall. Millette Green closed with 10 points and seven rebounds and Seamon added eight rebounds.