Maier Nets 1,000th Point in Blue Basketball's ECAC Semifinal Loss

CASTLETON, Vt. – Wellesley senior Malia Maier scored the 1,000th point of her career, but the Blue basketball team fell to second-seeded Suffolk University, 45-41, in the semifinals of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Women's Basketball Championship.

Wellesley, the #3 seed in the tournament, sees it's fantastic 2012-13 campaign come to an end at 16-11. The Blue's 16 wins were the most since 2002, and their ECAC semifinal appearance is the best since 2000.

Maier scored a team-high eight points, with the seventh marking the 1,000th point of her career. She became just the ninth player in Wellesley history to pass the 1,000 point barrier, and will also graduate with the school's all-time record for steals and assists.

Suffolk junior Jennifer Ruys scored 11 of her game-high 17 points during a torrid second half comeback, to lead Suffolk to victory. With the win Suffolk improves to 23-7 and advances to play top-seed and host Castleton (27-2) in Sunday's final at 1 p.m.

Ruys grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists to round her stat sheet, while Shelbi Santini joined her in double-figures with 10 points.

Wellesley was led in the scoring column by Maier and Morgyne Weaver who each tossed in eight points. Weaver led the blue with six boards, while Maier handed out a team-high four assists.

Suffolk trailed by as many as 13 in the second half and used a 14-2 run to take a 37-33 lead at the 5:22 mark, its first lead since the first minute of the game. Ruys had four points during the surge, and five-straight points from Shelbi Santini finished the comeback and gave the Rams a lead they would not relinquish.

Wellesley pulled within two points on three separate occasions down the stretch, but the combination of Iliana Quadri, Ruys and Santini was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to salt the game away.

Both teams struggled to find early offensive rhythm, but it was Wellesley that took control with an 11-0 run that spanned six minutes of play midway through the opening half. Trailing 4-3 at the 12-minute mark, Chelsi Scott converted a Courtney Jackson steal into the Blue's first lead with a lay-up on the other end. A Weaver jumper followed by five-straight points from Meghan Sargent pushed the lead to 12-4 with 6:48 remaining.

The Rams cut the lead first-half lead to 16-13 on a pair of Vienneau free throws with three minutes left, but the Blue scored the final five points of the half, including a step-back three from Maier to carry the 21-13 margin into the intermission.

Wellesley's Maier and Ashleigh Sargent finish their basketball careers with 50 victories for the Blue, the best total since the 2002 senior class of Jane Gooding and Alessa Podolak.