There were many similarities in the paths of the Marymount University Saints men’s and women’s basketball teams earning NCAA basketball tournament berths, including their first-round losses in those Division III playoff contests.
Each suffered season-ending defeats March 3 in New York against opponents that entered the games with 25-2 records, 21-game winning streaks, plus the away games tipped off at the same time. Also, the Marymount squads allowed 80 points in the setbacks – the men falling 80-62 to Oswego State and the women losing 80-72 to St. John Fisher.
Prior to the NCAAs, the Marymount teams qualified for the NCAAs by winning Atlantic East Conference tournament championship games three hours apart on the same day and on their same home courts. For the women, the NCAA berth was their 22nd in team history.
With the NCAA first-round losses, the women finished the season with a 23-5 record, snapping an eight-game winning streak, and the men 17-11.
Of the two, the Marymount women led the longest in their NCAA game, ahead 16-15 with 1:42 left in the first quarter. The Saints trailed 40-29 at halftime, rallied to within six points in the fourth period thanks to a 12-0 run, but got no closer.
Marymount’s Chandler Eddleton scored a single-game career-high 30 points in the loss to go with nine rebounds and four steals. Symantha Shackelford scored 15 for the Saints, had two assists and two steals; Terra Dzambo scored 10 with four rebounds and two steals, and she made three three-pointers; Kyla Treadwell scored seven; Ava Achtyla six; and Claire Smith had 10 rebounds, three points, three assists and two steals.
The women made 19 of 23 foul shots, but were hurt by 19 turnovers.
Shackelford and Smith were the only two seniors on the Saints’ roster this season.
St. John Fisher lost its next NCAA game, 65-64, to Smith College and was eliminated from the tournament.
The Marymount men never led against Oswego, falling behind 7-0, but remained close until late in the contest. The Saints trailed 42-34 at halftime against Oswego, which entered the game ranked sixth nationally by D3hoops.com.
Montell Cooper led the Marymount men in scoring with 15 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Wyatt Hockenberry scored 12 and made two three-pointers. Marcus Stubbs scored nine and had three rebounds; Marcus Beckett had eight rebounds and five boards; Ra’Shawn Cook had six points, five rebounds and two steals; and Peja Boyd had five points.
The Saints shot 38 percent from the floor during the game and had 16 turnovers.
The Marymount men were a young team this season, with a roster that included only one senior and one graduate student.
NOTES: During the 2022-23 season, the Marymount women won their 800th game in program history.
