11 players got into the game for the Baruch College (4-2 Overall, 1-0 CUNYAC) on Thursday evening. Every one of them scored at least two points as the three-time defending CUNYAC champion Bearcats defeated the Beavers of the City College of New York (1-5 Overall, 0-2 CUNYAC) by a score of 81-46 at the ARC Arena in New York, NY.
Leading the way for the Bearcats in the convincing victory was Megan Bouwens as she scored a game-high 14 points to go along with nine rebounds and a pair of steals in 20 minutes of action. Folashade Akinde added a double-double as she netted 12 points and grabbed 12 boards to go along with six steals, and Maria Turner was phenomenal off of the bench for her squad, posting a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds (six on the offensive glass), and four steals. Karyn Purcell contributed 11 points and four assists off of the bench as well.
Despite the loss for the Beavers, speedy point guard Donika Rexhepi put forth a nice all-around contest, scoring 13 points on six-of-15 shooting to go along with three assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Taryn VanEsselstyn also added 13 points, five rebounds, and four steals as well. Rachel Gahan came off of the bench to help with six points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Following the game, CCNY head coach Kevin Clifford gave his thoughts.
"Overall we played very hard, and I think we showed a lot of energy tonight," said Clifford. "Baruch has a tremendous amount of talent, but I feel as though we never stopped playing hard and I'm proud of that. We have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be, but it's all about progress. We'll try to shake this one off and get ready for Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday afternoon."
The Bearcats connected on 42.7 percent of their attempts from the field (32-75) while CCNY hit on 32.1 percent of theirs (18-56). Baruch College held a 20-10 edge in the steal department while also swatting seven shots compared to one block for CCNY. Both teams shot 66 percent from the charity stripe, with City College nailing nine of their 15 attempts from the line while the Bearcats hit in 12 of their 18 tries.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the game was Baruch College's ability to dominate the boards, out-rebounding the Beavers 55-33, including a 22-9 difference on the offensive glass.
The Beavers will return to action on Sunday afternoon as the team travels to Hoboken, New Jersey to battle Stevens Institute of Technology, with start-time for the non-conference contest scheduled for 1:30pm.