Women's Basketball claims Key Largo Classic Championship; Yoshimura's game-high 27-points helps Dallas sink Suffolk University (MA), 69-67

TAVERNIER, Fla. - Now boasting a two-game winning streak, the University of Dallas women's basketball team (4-7, 0-3 SCAC) brought in the New Year with a 69-67 victory over Suffolk University (Mass.) early Sunday evening at Coral Shores High School to become the 2011-12 Key Largo Classic Champions.

Suffolk capitalized on several early Dallas turnovers, as the Lady Crusaders found themselves trailing 11-5 at 15:16 of the first half. The Lady Rams pressured Dallas into eight first-half turnovers and 16 for the game, while Suffolk turned the ball over a total of 12 times.

This six-point deficit did not faze Dallas, however, as head coach Jina Johansen helped her squad battle to overtake Suffolk for the first time -- at the 7:19 mark -- off a Jordon Baker (Allen, Texas/Plano East H.S.) 3-pointer.

Baker, a 5-foot-6 freshman guard, also had an assist and a steal in 10-minutes of play.

Suffolk's Andrea Suffredini responded with a bucket at the other end, to put her team back up by one-point at 6:20 of the opening half.

In a game with four lead changes, Suffolk led for most of the remainder of the first half, but 5-foot-5 freshman guard Emily Madden (Torrington, Wyo./Torrington H.S.) helped Dallas seize momentum late in the half. She sank back-to-back 3-pointer attempts to put her team up by three-points with 1:12 remaining.

Madden finished the game as one of two Lady Crusaders in double figures, netting 14-points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-5 effort from 3-point range. She also went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, and grabbed two rebounds in 31-minutes on the court.

At halftime, Dallas had a 40-37 advantage, after making 43.3-percent (13-of-30) from the field, as opposed to Suffolk's mark of 41.7-percent (15-of-36) in the first half. A noteworthy accomplishment, the Lady Crusaders managed to tabulate a mark of 53.3-percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc in the initial half.

Dallas grew their lead to a game-high nine-points at 12:07 of the second half, thanks to 5-foot-4 junior guard Kylie Yoshimura (Temple City, Calif./Mark Keppel H.S.) knocking down a 3-pointer.

Yoshimura totalled a game-high 27-points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 evening from 3-point land. She was virtually automatic from the free-thow line, depositing 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Yoshimura also registered four rebounds and four assists in 35-minutes of play.

Suffolk, however, did not back down from the Dallas attack. The Lady Rams went on a 6-0 run following Yoshimura's trifecta, diminishing their deficit to three-points with 7:04 to go in the contest. 

Dallas grew their lead to seven-points at the 5:16-mark when 5-foot-10 sophomore post Christy Allen (Burton, Mich./St. Thomas More Academy) converted on a layup.

Allen's final stat-line included nine-points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-of-6 night from the free-throw line. She also tallied seven rebounds (three offensive) and two steals in 22-minutes of work.

Despite Dallas' best efforts to run away with the game, the pesky Suffolk group just kept plugging away. The Lady Rams managed to tie the game 67-67 with nine-seconds remaining.

With the game coming down to the wire, Madden was fouled with three-seconds remaining in regulation. She sank both of her free-throw attempts, helping propel Dallas to a two-point victory and the 2011-12 Key Largo Classic Championship.

The second-half saw Dallas shoot 35.7-percent (10-of-28), while Suffolk netted 37.9-percent (11-of-29) from the field.

For the game, Dallas took the rebounding battle, 43-41.

Next opponent:

Dallas returns to SCAC-play on Friday, Jan. 6, with a 6 p.m. contest versus Hendrix College (Ark.) at the Maher Athletic Center.

The game will be streamed live online via collegetvticket.com, and in-game updates will be provided on Facebook (UDallasAthletics) and Twitter (UDallasSports).