Men’s Basketball
Marywood entered the week holding the fifth seed in the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) due to a three-game skid.
The Pacers looked to get back in the win column on Wednesday in a home match against Immaculata. The green and gold narrowly took down the Mighty Macs in late January, and quickly worked on adding to that result, stretching out a 13-point lead heading into halftime.
Immaculata came storming back after the second half whistle blew, drawing the contest to a tie multiple times. Marywood held strong, however, and a great team effort in the closing minutes gave the Pacers an 87-79 victory.
Forward Shilo Bivins had himself a night, notching a team-leading 17 points. The 6’4’’ senior also snagged 11 rebounds and dished out four assists en route to a double-double. Junior guard Michel Loftin also scored 17 points, representing a return to form for one of Marywood’s highlight players.
The Pacers traveled to Saint Elizabeth University on Saturday to face the last-place Eagles. With a renewed sense of confidence, Marywood came out swinging, building a 37-11 lead halfway through the first half. The Pacers kept up that momentum for the rest of the contest, scoring triple digits for the second time all season in a 105-75 victory.
Everyone contributed for the green and gold, with nine players notching 15 or more minutes and 12 different players scoring. Bivins led the charge with 22 points, while Collin Himmelberg and Loftin trailed with 16 and 13 respectively.
Marywood hosts Neumann on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in a matchup with enormous implications for AEC playoff seeding. Tip off will be at 6 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
The Pacers entered the week holding the third seed in the AEC and staring down a trip to undefeated Immaculata on Wednesday. The teams’ previous matchup went to overtime in Scranton, where the Mighty Macs eventually pulled away for the victory.
Immaculata held onto that momentum when Wednesday’s contest started. The Pacers quickly fell behind 28-8 at the conclusion of the first quarter, and despite better offensive output in the second quarter, entered halftime trailing 45-28. The second quarter would end up being Marywood’s best, as 11 and seven point performances in the third and fourth quarters were not enough to catch up to the Mighty Macs. The final score was 89-46.
Despite the team result, senior guard Megan Cavoli had a good day. Cavoli scored a team-high 12 points on no free throws and added two steals to her tally.
The Pacers were on the road again on Saturday, this time traveling to Saint Elizabeth. The Eagles reigned supreme in the teams’ first matchup in a low-scoring contest, and Marywood looked to get revenge and hold onto the third seed. This game was much closer from the get-go than the last, as Saint Elizabeth entered the second quarter with a two-point lead. Marywood went blow-for-blow, and the halftime whistle blew with the Pacers up 30-28.
Relative to the game script, Marywood owned the third quarter by opening up a seven-point lead. The fourth quarter mirrored the first two, but its back-and-forth nature was enough for the Pacers to hold on for a 66-58 win.
Junior Anyah Ortiz and senior Mia Blume led the charge against the Eagles, both scoring 20 points. Ortiz added on 17 rebounds for a double-double and was efficient from the line, sinking eight of her 10 free throw attempts. Blume was on the court for all 40 minutes of gametime and nailed five three-pointers, the only Pacer to hit a three throughout the game.
This game also marked the return of graduate student Olivia Ciullo, who last saw action in December. Ciullo turned in a good performance, seeing 32 minutes of court time and grabbing 14 points. As Marywood’s leading scorer in 2024-25 and a First Team All-Atlantic East Conference nominee, Ciullo’s presence will provide a spark for the Pacers as the team prepares for the playoffs.
Swimming & Diving
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed at the AEC Championships in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, over the weekend.
The women snagged third place overall with 591 points in the team standings. Camila Gil snagged second in the 200 breaststroke with a finals time of 2:39.05. Aubrey Mangan finished just behind her with a time of 2:39.95. Mangan managed second in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:11.4. Kylee Koratich also stood atop the podium in the 200 butterfly, as her time of 2:21.5 earned her third place. Marywood 400 freestyle relay team, composed of Catelyn Lieser, Gil, Emerson Gellert, and Mangan also got third place.
The men also grabbed third place overall by scoring 315 points. Alex Corcoran achieved eighth in the 100 free with a time of 50.46 seconds. Marywood’s 400 free relay, consisting of Sam O’Sullivan, Aaron Purdy, Alex McCarey and Corcoran earned a third place spot with a time of 3:36.3.
Men’s Lacrosse
Men’s lacrosse opened its season by hosting Drew University on Saturday. Marywood started the scoring with an unassisted goal by Ricky Strobel, but the contest was streaky for the rest of the game. Drew went on a 5-0 run and entered halftime holding a 5-1 lead. The Pacers clawed back in the third quarter with Strobel, Ben Meighan and Sheamus Scanlan all finding the back of the net, cutting Marywood’s deficit to one. Drew retook control in the fourth quarter, however, and three straight goals ended the Pacers’ hope of a comeback. Marywood fell with a final score of 8-4.
The Pacers will be back in action on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against nearby rival Wilkes University.
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s lacrosse also began its season on Saturday, squaring off against Montclair State University at its home turf field. The Red Hawks got off to a hot start, scoring three goals in the first quarter. The Pacers got on the board in the second thanks to goals from Natalie Yilanjian and Kaitlyn Smith, and the game went back-and-forth until the quarter was nearly over.
Up 6-4 with less than three minutes left in the half, Montclair State grabbed momentum with two quick goals. The Red Hawks kept control out of the break, scoring five more straight to build a 13-4 lead. Avery Meighan, Smith and Yilanjian found the net a few more times, but the Pacers were unable to overcome the deficit and fell 19-8.
Marywood’s next game will be at DeSales University on Wednesday.
Indoor & Outdoor Track and Field
The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at Cornell’s Kane Invitational on Saturday, which had no team scoring. On the men’s side, Daniel Matyjasek’s 60-meter time of 7.27 seconds ranks tied for fourth all-time in Marywood history, and earned him 11th place at the meet. Joseph Cardillo impressed in the 5K race, finishing in second with a time of 15:46.03.
For the women, Braelyn Reed ran the second-fastest time in school history with an 8.23 second display in the 60-meter dash, resulting in 11th place overall. Kalie Fernandez-Naughton also had an impressive performance, setting the fourth-best long jump in Marywood history with a distance of 15 feet and 7 inches, good for ninth place in the event.
The Pacers will grace the track once again on Friday at Haverford College.
All stats taken from MarywoodPacers.com as of Feb. 17.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
