BOX SCORE

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. (January 5, 2012) - Sophomore forward Lauren Deverin's layup in the final seconds lifted Bloomfield to a thrilling one-point victory Thursday evening, as the women's basketball team improved to 5-7 overall with a dramatic 47-46 home victory over nationally-ranked Dowling College.

The Lady Deacons were able to slow the pace of the action in the opening 20 minutes of play, limiting a Dowling squad ranked 25th in the country to just 21% shooting and 16 total points in the first half.  Bloomfield was able to maintain a slim advantage throughout the frame, taking a 19-16 lead into the intermission.

The home team would hold the small cushion until midway through the second period, as the Lions finally broke through to overtake the Lady Deacons at 34-33 with 9:23 to play.  Four lead changes would mark the remainder of the contest, the seesaw battle seeing neither team lead by more than six points the rest of the way.

Bloomfield would grab hold of a six-point advantage with 5:22 remaining, but Dowling countered with a 6-1 run of their own to move to within a single point at 43-42 with just over two minutes to go.  A layup by Vanessa Lamison (Laurel, Md.) moved the Lady Deacons' lead to three, but back-to-back buckets on consecutive possessions gave the Lions a 46-45 lead with 40 ticks left. 

Enter Deverin, who finished a feed from Shaniqua Bacote (Paterson, N.J.) to once again swing the contest in favor of Bloomfield with a layup to give the Lady Deacons a 47-46 lead with 19 seconds remaining.  After a Dowling timeout, the Bloomfield defense once again answered the call and turned in one final stand, thwarting the hopes of a buzzer-beating victory with an outstanding stop as time expired to hold on for the landmark upset victory.

Deverin finished with 10 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks on the evening, further solidifying herself as one of the top young post players in the CACC.  Senior guard Shakiyrah Bishop (Rio Grande, N.J.) netted a team-high 12 points in the win, while Lamison finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go with three steals.  Senior point guard Emily Hall (Montclair, N.J.) was also solid in the backcourt, totaling 11 points and four assists to help key the marquee triumph.

Connie Simmons led all scorers for Dowling, tallying a game-high 16 points in the loss.  Sarah Schicher notched a double-double for the Lions, totaling 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Bloomfield returns to action Saturday, January 7 when they welcome CACC South Division rival University of the Sciences for a home conference matchup.  Tip-off for the contest is set for 1:00 PM.