WATERBURY, Conn. – In the last regular season home matchup that Post University Women's Basketball had against Goldey-Beacom College, they blew them out by 52 points, their second-largest margin of victory in program history. But in the two games since then, it had seemed like the Lightning had been the Eagles' kryptonite, beating them both on the road in the regular season and in the CACC Quarterfinals last season in the Drubner Center.

On Saturday, that notion was destroyed as the Post offense came to life early and often with senior guard Naj White's stellar 30-point, seven-rebound performance on 10-of-15 shooting to help the Eagles take the lead from tip-off and never look back in an 86-72 win over Goldey-Beacom. 

THE BASICS

Post University 86, Goldey-Beacom College 72

Post University (6-18, 5-7 CACC)
 
Goldey-Beacom College (7-17, 4-8 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Pacing the Eagles in the first quarter would be none other than sophomore forward Alyssa Rossignol whose eight points on 3-of-5 shooting helped Post jump out to a 10-point lead, 21-11. Senior guard Naj White was equally impressive, scoring six points in 3-for-3 shootings, as the Eagles never trailed in the opening frame of action. 

Plagued by turnovers, Goldey-Beacom had just seven total shots from the field and made two of those while turning the ball over nine times. Post's dominance was flashed in every facet of play, including on the boards where they outrebounded the Lightning by a 10-4 margin. Free throw shooting for Goldey-Beacom resulted in a perfect 6-for-6 start to the game while the Eagles went 3-for-3 from the line and 8-for-18 overall from the field all in the first.

Finishing off a nearly perfect first half was White with 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in which she made her first seven shots before missing her final attempt from three-point range with just over a minute left in the second quarter while grabbing a team-high six rebounds. 

Both Rossignol and sophomore guard Hannah Finnerty each had eight points while senior guard Julie Kulesza had 13 points to lead the way for the Lightning at halftime on 5-for-6 shooting followed by senior guard Julie McCarron with nine points, four of which came from the free throw line.
Post would lead by as many as 16 points with 1:37 left in the first half before heading into halftime with a 14-point lead, 46-32, behind a 47.4% shooting half in which they made 46.2% of their threes (6-for-13). Nearly even in turnovers, the Eagles had a slight 11-9 edge in forcing them which led to a 16-12 lead in points off turnovers while also outrebounding Goldey-Beacom by a 22-10 margin. 

Throughout the third, the Lightning would refuse to quit, hanging in with the Eagles despite them taking a 19-point lead, 58-39, with 3:45 remaining in the frame. From there, sophomore guard Katie Yoder would kick off a 9-2 run for Goldey-Beacom which got them within 12 points, 60-48, before Post would be able to settle things down and maintain their double-digit lead, 64-52, heading into the fourth.

The middle two quarters for the Lightning featured 41 points after their sluggish start while going 15-for-31 (48.3%) from the field while the Eagles matched it with a 15-for-31 (48.3%) effort between the second and third quarters with 43 points. The difference maker in that stretch would be Post's long-range shooting as they hit 4-of-11 threes, all of which were in the second, compared to just 2-of-7 for Goldey-Beacom.

Still controlling the game despite a push from Goldey-Beacom to get back into it, Post would never lose their double-digit lead, matching the Lightning basket for basket over the course of the fourth quarter. Leading still by 10 points, 66-56, with 8:03 remaining, the Eagles would embark on a 10-2 run with the help of four different scorers en route to an 18-point edge as the halfway point of the quarter neared.

Now trailing by 14 points with 2:26 left in regulation, Goldey-Beacom's final push came in the form of a quick four-point blitz at the free throw line over the next 44 seconds which was quickly met with a free throw line response by White and the Eagles to up their lead back to 13 points, 83-70, with under a minute left. Tacking on a few more from the free throw line, that would be all Post needed to ice their 14-point win, 86-72, as every player who hit the court today for the Eagles ended up scoring, including three with double-digit scoring in White (30 points), Rossignol (10 points), and Finnerty (11 points).

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Shooting 7-for-8 from the floor in the first half, Naj White finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting and seven rebounds on the afternoon – White also went 9-for-11 from the free throw line in the victory 
• Alyssa Rossignol made it three straight games with double-digit scoring and nine of her last 10 games after dropping 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting while also adding seven rebounds to her totals today 
• Finishing the game 29-for-59 from the floor which resulted in a 49.2% shooting game, It is the first time this season in which the Eagles have shot over 40% in three consecutive games  
• Post University snaps a two-game losing streak against Goldey-Beacom College while still owning the recent history between the two teams to the tune of five wins in their last seven matchups overall since the 2019-20 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will try to sweep the season series against Felician University on the road this Tuesday night at 6:00 PM in Rutherford, New Jersey. In the Drubner Center earlier this year, the Eagles took a commanding 79-64 victory to earn their first conference win of the season.