OSPREYS ADVANCE IN ECAC TOURNEY WITH 73-62 WIN

LaTonya Oliver

Boxscore

Richard Stockton (16-12) showed no ill effects from a 10-day layoff as the third-seeded Ospreys downed sixth-seeded FDU-Florham (13-13) 73-62 in the ECAC Metro Tournament quarterfinals. Five players reached double figures for the balanced Stockton offense.

LaTonya Oliver (West Berlin/Overbrook) and Lauren Alwan (Winslow/Timber Creek) scored 13 points apiece. Oliver went 6-6 from the field and also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Alwan notched a game-high five steals.

Sarah Gibbs (Ocean View/Ocean City) and Brittany Muniz (Cherry Hill/CH East) each tossed in 12 points. Gibbs was 4-4 from the floor as well. Che’Na Thompson (Salem/Salem) contributed 10 points for the Ospreys.

Gibbs and Alwan netted four points apiece as Stockton jumped out to an 18-8 lead. FDU-Florham eventually closed the gap to four points, but the Ospreys later closed the half with a 14-2 run that gave them a sizeable 39-22 advantage at intermission. Gibbs added four more points during the spurt.

Stockton’s biggest lead of the night came at 45-25 following a layup by Thompson early in the second half. FDU-Florham got as close as seven points midway through the period, but the Ospreys squashed the rally with two straight baskets by Alex Nardoza (Woodbridge/Woodbridge) for a 55-44 lead with 9:43 remaining.

The Ospreys led by at least eight points the rest of the way as they cruised to the 73-62 win. Stockton shot 53.6% from the field in the second half. With the victory, the Ospreys advanced to face seventh-seeded Stevens in the ECAC Metro semifinals at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday night.