City College of New York women's basketball team held off United States Merchant Marine Academy 66-57 on Tuesday evening.
City (8-7) started the game off with a 7-0 run. USMMA (5-7) followed close behind, but the Beavers were able to keep their lead. They led by as much as nine in the first quarter. City shot .571 from the field and .500 from behind the arc in the first quarter. Merchant Marine shot .385 from the field. City led 20-13 after the first quarter.
Merchant Marine fought back hard in the second quarter. City remained in control until USMMA took a 5-0 run to go up 23-22 at the six minute mark. City took the lead back with 4:47 left in the first half. CCNY continued to add to their lead to give themselves a 34-27 advantage as they went into the locker room.
The Beavers shot .478 from the field and an impressive .556 from behind the arc in the first half. They held USMMA to a .440 field goal and .400 three-point field goal percentage. Liz Durchhalter led the Beavers with 11 points in the half, while Robin Daley led with two rebounds.
USMMA started off the third quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the Beavers lead 34-33. City continued to stay in the lead throughout the third quarter and went on a 8-0 run to take a big 44-37 lead. City remained in control and led 47-43 going into the final quarter.
While the Merchant Marines tried to chip away at CCNY's lead, City held onto control of the game. City took their biggest lead of 11 points with 1:11 left on the clock. USMMA continued to fight hard, but the Beavers sealed the deal and put another victory in the win column with the final score of 66-57.
Durchhalter finished the game with a team-high 19 points for the Beavers. Tiara Brown was a rebound away from a double-double as she recorded 17 points and nine rebounds. City shot .404 from the field on the game, while USMMA shot .423. City held the advantage at the three-point line and free-throw line. CCNY shot .353 from the behind the arc and .818 from the charity stripe.
City returns to Nat Holman Gymnasium to face CUNYAC foe Baruch on Friday, January 15.