NCAA SELECTION SHOW, 10PM EASTERN

POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH MADISON ROWLAND

Brookville, N.Y. - You've been there before.  That was the ubiquitous message that Head Coach Bet Naumovski purposefully kept telling her team, despite trailing by 16 points at halftime.  You've been there before.  It was partially knowing what got you to the game (namely, defensive pressure, rebounding and transition), it was part geography (the Knights came from nine points down in the final 3:42 to defeat LIU Post two weeks earlier on the exact same floor), and it was a little bit of comfort (the Knights trailed St. Thomas Aquinas at the half in the semi final, but came back to beat the Spartans).  In the end, a full team effort, led by the East Coast Conference's Player of the Year, Madison Rowland, catapulted the Knights to a 65-63 win, and the team's first ECC championship since 2009.  More importantly, it cemented a spot for them in the NCAA Championship.

The game looked good early for the Knights as MacKenzie Rowland got to the line on the team's first possession.  She made both freebies and the team led, 2-0.  Nearly four minutes later, she added a jumper to put Queens ahead for the second time, 8-7.  The game remained within two points up to the 12:39 mark, where a Joya McFarland made a layup to pull QC to 14-12.

NYIT took over from there.  They used the final 12:39 of game time to post a 25-11 run to lead 39-23 at the half.  The lead got as big as 18 points for the Bears, but Taylor Miller found Madison Rowland for a jumper in the closing seconds of the half to make the score 39-23 at the break.

The Knights came out in the second half slowly, methodically, chipping away at the NYIT lead.  They relied on strong defense and rebounding to mount the comeback.  The Bears didn't make it easy.  Three times in the half QC got within ten and each time, NYIT answered.

Trailing by 16 with 15 minutes remaining, Madison Rowland nailed a three-pointer.  Strong defense led to a missed turnover and Rowland buried another trifecta and within 0:35 seconds, the lead was down to ten points, 45-35, NYIT.

The Bears answered with a basket, but QC pulled to within 10 for the second time when Rowland scored on a putback.  The Knights forced a pair of turnovers on the Bears next two possessions, but couldn't get closer than ten.  The Bears pushed the lead back up to 16, at 55-39, with 9:16 left.

The final 9:16 of action saw Queens erase the lead as they limited NYIT to just eight points over that stretch.  Rowland got them within 14 with a jumper.  The team forced a pair of turnovers and eventually Kristen Korzevinski made a pair of foul shots to make the score, 55-43, with 7:09 left.

Trailing by a dozen with 3:12 left (not unlike the game with the Pioneers two weeks ago), the Knights turned up the pressure and came back.  MacKenzie Rowland sank a foul shot to pull the team within 11.  After the Bears missed a shot, McFarland hooked up with Rowland for another bucket to pull QC within nine.  Half a minute later, Madison Rowland buried two free throws and the score was 62-55 for NYIT with 2:06 left.

Following a timeout, the Knights pressed and forced another turnover.  Madison Rowland converted on the other end and the lead was down to five.  After forcing a bad pass on a subsequent possession, Elisabeth Gully found herself on the foul line.  She converted the second of a pair of foul shots and the score was 62-58 NYIT with 0:35 left.  The Bears missed the front end of a one-in-one following Gully's score and Madison Rowland turned that into a bucket to make the score 62-60.

Trailing by two with 24 seconds remaining, more defensive pressure led to a Madison Rowland steal.  She got the ball to McFarland, who gave it back to her for the game-tying basket. Rowland was fouled on the play and made the freebie to give QC a 63-62 lead.  It was the team's first lead since the MacKenzie Rowland jumper at 16:17 in the first half that put QC up 8-7.

From there, the Bears called a timeout.  Out of the respite, stingy defense forced another turnover.  This led to McFarland icing the game with a pair of free throws with 0:11 left.  The score was 65-62.  NYIT had the ball at the end with a chance to tie.  Kristen Kelly was fouled on a three-point attempt.  She missed the first shot, made the second and intentionally missed the third hoping for a tip.  The third foul shot missed the rim and the ball went to the Knights, who won, 65-63

In the win, The Rowland sisters each had double-doubles.  MacKenzie finished with 15 points and ten rebounds, while Madison scored 38 points and grabbed 13 boards, both game highs.  She shot 15-28.  Another key contributor was Joya McFarland.  The point guard logged 23 minutes off the bench, and led the comeback let with a pair of assists and several defensive pressures and was the emotional leader for the team.

McFarland and MacKenzie Rowland were named to the All Tournament Team.  Madison Rowland was named the Most Outstanding Player.

Queens, assured a spot in the NCAA Championship, will find out who the opponent will be on Sunday, March 8, at 10:00 PM Eastern, when the NCAA selection show will reveal the field of 64.  The show can be accessed by the link at the top of the story.