BRONX, N.Y. – The Lehman College women's basketball team earn its 10th CUNY Athletic Conference victory of the season, by defeating York College, 83-69, in the APEX Main Gym on Friday. With the win, Eric Harrison now has 252 career wins as the head coach at Lehman College, and is just one win shy of tying Marguerite Moran on the all-time CUNYAC coaches' wins list.
The Lightning (16-8, 10-5 CUNYAC) got off to a sluggish start, as they trailed 23-18, with 5:40 left to play in the first half. Sophomore guard Amely Del Rosario (Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) helped get Lehman's rally started by tallying a three-point basket to pull the home team within two. After York (7-16, 4-11 CUNYAC) went back up by three, junior guard Jennifer Navarro (Jamaica, N.Y./Grover Cleveland) scored the game's next five points, capped off by a successful shot from beyond the arc, to give Lehman the lead for good, 30-28, with 1:33 left to play in the opening stanza. Both teams went into the locker rooms with the score 33-30, in favor of the Lightning.
In the second half, Lehman began to pull away, as a three-point tally from junior forward Amani Lightbourne (Elmsford, N.Y./Alexander Hamilton) extended the Lightning's lead to 37-32, less than two minutes in. A few minutes later, Lightbourne struck again, this time successfully converting back-to-back layups to extend the home team's lead to double-digits, 45-33. York would not make the game close again as Lehman pulled away to earn an 83-69 win.
Junior forward Karrin Walker (New York, N.Y./Richard R. Green) led all scorers with 25 points, and grabbed 10 boards for her 13th double-double of the season. Classmate Yarmese Jones (Astoria, N.Y./William C. Bryant) had a double-double of her own, scoring 19 points with 15 rebounds. Navarro produced 18 points, including 7-7 shooting from the free throw line, and dished out five assists. Del Rosario scored 10 points and had a game-high nine assists, while Lightbourne added 11 points.
It was Senior Night and Lehman College honored Luisayra Madrigal (Bronx, N.Y./Monsignor Scanlan) in a ceremony held prior to the start of the contest. For the game, Madrigal grabbed two rebounds, had an assist, and forced a steal.
Lehman will conclude the regular season on Tuesday, on the road against the College of Staten Island, in a key CUNY Athletic Conference contest, beginning at 5:30 p.m.