Staten Island, NY --- The #3 seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs fell just short of capturing its first Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Women's Basketball Championship in program history, as BC dropped a 65-53 decision against the #1 seeded Cougars of Kean University on Sunday night at the College of Staten Island Sports & Recreation Center.

The Bulldogs end their season with a 22-8 overall record and earn their second straight ECAC Division III Metro runner-up finish.  Brooklyn made its second consecutive trip to the championship final after defeating #6 seed Elmira College (50-47) from the Empire 8 Conference in the First Round and fellow City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) member #2 seed College of Staten Island (61-56) in the semifinals round.

Kean, from the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), completes its season with an 18-12 overall record and claims its first ECAC Metro Championship in program history. The Cougars defeated a pair of CUNYAC schools to reach the championship final, beating #8 Lehman College (73-57) in the First Round and #5 Hunter College (69-49) in the semifinals round. Kean made it three straight over CUNYAC schools with its win over Brooklyn in the championship final.

Junior Carissa Williams led BC with a team-high 12 points, while senior Megan Campbell finished the night with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Junior Nicole Francomano was the third Bulldog in double figures with 10 points, to go along with five assists and three steals. JuniorNacirema Mann pulled down nine rebounds, to go with eight points coming off the bench.

For Kean, Simone Smith led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, to go with six rebounds. For her efforts, Smith was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Jazmine Davis added 16 points and six rebounds, while AnnaRose Pierre contributed with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Cougars led wire-to-wire as the top seed opened the game on a 7-0 run. Jaquetta Owens led the run scoring five of the seven points. Williams got the Bulldogs on the board with a layup at the 17:20 mark of the first half.

Kean would balloon its lead to double figures for the majority of the half, leading by as many as 16, 30-14, with 1:09 remaining before the halftime break. The Cougars would head into the break holding a 12-point, 30-18, halftime cushion.

After scoring the final four points of the first half, the Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the second half to combine for an 11-0 run and cut its deficit to five, 30-25, with 17:30 remaining in the game.

Brooklyn would get to with four, 36-32, on a layup from Mann with 14:09 left; however, that's as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the way, as the Cougars rattled off seven straight points, all from Davis, to go back up by double figures, 43-32, at the 12:01 mark. Davis would later put Kean up by 14, 48-34, midway through the second half.

BC would not go down lightly; however, as the Bulldogs continued to chip away at its deficit and stay in the game, getting to within six, 56-50, following a pair of free throws from senior Zoe Randolph with 2:34 remaining in the game. Kean would finally put Brooklyn away closing out the game on a 9-3 run by hitting key free throws down the stretch to take home the 65-53 victory and the ECAC Metro Division III Women's Basketball championship title.

For the game, Brooklyn shot 32.8% (19-for-58) from the field, including 33.3% (3-for-9) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shot 75.0% (12-for-16) from the free throw line.

Kean shot 41.0% (25-for-61) from the field, but struggled from three, going 2-for-12 (16.7%) from downtown. The Cougars converted 76.5% (13-for-17) from the charity stripe. Points in the paint were a key to the Kean win, as the Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 44-20 in the paint.

The 2013-2014 campaign was another successful season for the BC Women's Basketball program that saw the team secure its third straight 20-win season and sixth straight appearance in the ECAC Metro Championships. With 10 letter winners expected to return next year, the Bulldogs will look to once again make a strong postseason run in 2014-2015.