The Berkeley College women’s basketball team picked up a hard-fought victory on Saturday evening, turning back the Bears of St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game by a score of 57-54 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in Lower Manhattan. The win marked the first time in program history that the Knights defeated the Bears during the regular season – and with that – the Knights improved their overall record to 10-3, while staying perfect with a 4-0 unblemished mark in HVIAC play. St. Joseph’s fell to 9-8 on the 2013-2014 campaign, and 1-1 in conference action.
In what turned out to be a roller coaster evening for
the Knights, Berkeley College took a 13-point first half lead, relinquished
that lead late in the second session, and then scoring the final seven points
of regulation to hold on for a thrilling three-point win.
The Knights appeared to be in full control of the
contest in the early stages, leading 21-8 with 6:30 remaining in the first
half. The Bears spent a good portion of the game battling back, eventually
taking the lead – 49-48 – thanks to a layup by senior forward Megan Moran with
4:11 left in the game. Following a converted jump shot by sophomore guard
Tierra Williams that gave Berkeley the lead, St. Joseph’s scored five straight
points, thanks to a layup and a free throw by Moran, and a layup by senior
guard Kelly McNamee. With 2:52 remaining in regulation, the Bears held a 54-50
lead.
From there, it was all Knights, as Berkeley College
scored the next seven points of the game (including a three-point basket by
senior guard Aiyesha Brown, a jumper by junior forward Patricia Patterson, and
a pair of free throws by junior guard Janay Thomas) and didn’t allow a Bears
field goal the rest of the way. St. Joseph’s College had one final chance to
tie the game, but junior forward Samantha Retas misfired on a three-point
basket as time expired.
Leading the way for Berkeley College in its victory was
Thomas, as she scored a team-high 16 points to go along with six assists and
four rebounds. Junior forward Milan Germany added a double-double with 14
points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks, and Brown netted 13 points
and snatched six boards.
Despite the loss for St. Joseph’s College, it was Moran
putting forth a strong effort as she scored a game-high 20 points to go along
with four rebounds. Junior forward Taylor Raccuglia netted 14 points and
grabbed nine boards, and Retas added nine points, 14 caroms, six assists, four
steals, and two blocks.
The teams shot identically from the floor, as both
squads connected on 34.5 percent of their shots (Berkeley 19-55, St. Joseph’s
20-58). The Knights held a slight 42-41 edge on the glass, while also tallying
10 steals to the Bears’ eight. St. Joseph’s dished 15 assists to Berkeley’s 12,
and the Bears also won the turnover battle, committing 19 miscues to the Knights’
20.
The Knights will return to action on Monday evening as
they take to the road to battle the Cardinals of York College in a
non-conference contest. Start-time is scheduled for 6:00pm.
