The ladies still have two more hills to climb before they can get in on the Big Dance, beginning with Thursday night’s showdown with host and No. 2 seed RMU in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.

Waithe, who posted her 12th double-double of the season against SFC, got plenty of help from graduate transfer student Denisha Petty-Evans (16 points) and freshman standout Jeydah Johnson, who finished with 10 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:33 remaining in regulation.

The fifth-seeded Blackbirds (13-17) split a pair of regular-season meetings with the No. 4 Terriers, with each winning on its home floor.

But with both teams facing the pressure of elimination Wednesday, LIU emerged as the best Brooklyn had to offer this season.

“We talked about making the extra pass and having them work a bit more defensively,” said third-year LIU head coach Stephanie Del Preore. “Our seniors stepped up. DeAngelique Waithe with a double-double with some huge offensive rebounds.  We got some big performances from our freshmen, too … Jeydah made a huge basket down the stretch. It was all about effort and playing for each other.”

“LIU played with great poise,” SFC head coach John Thurston added. “DeAngelique Waithe has been a thorn in our side every time we play. I really believe she was the most improved player in the league because she was able to dominate games for her team.”

Senior Alex Delaney scored 14 points in her final game and sophomore Jade Johnson added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Terriers (13-17), who were left to lament what could have been.

“I thought our kids played really hard and I’m proud of our kids,” said Thurston. “We finished higher than we were supposed to. We’re disappointed but we learn from our disappointments and it makes you a better person.

“We had some opportunities to put it away,” he added. “Layups have been our nemesis all year. We’ve lost six games now by three points or less with double-digit missed layups. Some are contested but some you just have to make. We’ll move on; we’ll get stronger and learn from it.”

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In other local sports news, the Brooklyn Cyclones announced this week that manager Edgardo “Fonzie” Alfonzo will be back for his second summer at the helm on Coney Island.

The Mets’ Class A short-season affiliate struggled through a league-worst 24-52 campaign in 2017, falling well shy of reaching the New York-Penn League playoffs for the first time since 2012 during Alfonzo’s initial turn as skipper.

The 44-year-old former Mets star did, however, help develop some young talent, which is the primary goal of any Minor League outfit, especially at the Class A level.

Right-handed hurler Nicolas Debora earned the Mets’ Sterling Award for organizational excellence after leading the team in strikeouts (53) while posting a 2.33 ERA. The 23-year-old Dominican went 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA in August.

Alfonzo won’t be alone on the Brooklyn bench as the Mets announced the additions to his new staff.

While pitching coach Royce Ring returns for a second season, hitting coach Marlon Anderson will take over duties as the team’s batting instructor. The Cyclones scored a league-low 241 runs in 76 games last year, and also had the N.Y.-Penn’s highest team ERA at 4.18.

Rounding out the coaching staff is Daichi Arima (athletic trainer) and Sam Nickelsen (strength and conditioning).

Brooklyn will begin the 2018 season on June 16 against archrival Staten Island at MCU Park.

For information on full-season, partial-season or group tickets call 718-37-BKLYN or log on to BrooklynCyclones.com.

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