Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Women's Basketball)

KNIGHTS RALLY LATE BUT CAN'T COMPLETE COMEBACK; STATEN ISLAND EDGES NJCU, 64-60

STATEN ISLAND, NY (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University trimmed an eight-point College of Staten Island lead with 2:07 to play down to one with 21 seconds left before being called for an intentional foul and the Dolphins survived missing both foul shots by converting three of their final four chances from the line, and survived a comeback bid by NJCU, 64-60, in a non-conference women's basketball game on Tuesday night at the CSI Sports Center.

CSI wins its first game of the season (1-6) while NJCU falls to 2-8 overall. Staten Island has won the last three meetings between the clubs in a series NJCU leads, 7-6.

For NJCU, senior guard CAROLINA GARCIA (Plainfield, NJ/Franklin) led the way with 16 points (6-16 FG) and five steals while playing a full 40 minutes in a game for the 17^th time in her career.

Freshman forward MARIA SUAREZ (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) provided 14 points, four assists and two steals while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor before fouling out. Reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week, freshman forward ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) collected a game-best 12 rebounds and added eight points and two steals before also fouling out.

NJCU's second half comeback was aided by the arrival of starting sophomore point guard NIDIA CARMONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), who did not enter the game until halftime while completing a final exam. In the second half she registered 10 points (3-6 FG) and five offensive rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

The Dolphins received a game-best of 19 points from senior forward Allie Shanahan (Staten Island, NY), who shot 3-of-8 from three-point range (7-21 FG) and added nine rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes. Sophomore guard Olivia Tierno (Staten Island, NY) scored 15 points (6-15 FG) and added six boards in a full 40 minutes of action.

Freshman guard Rachel Rosado (Staten Island, NY) tallied 13 points (5-8 FG) and freshman guard Jaclyn Tocco (Staten Island, NY) collected nine rebounds with five assists. Sophomore forward Katelyn Hepworth (Staten Island, NY) finished with eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

CSI led by seven at halftime after making four first-half three pointers (4-9, .444) and shooting 42.4 percent (14-33) for the period. Leading 20-15 with 7:04 to play in the period, CSI went on a 9-0 run to gain its largest lead of the night—a 14-point, 29-15 advantage. Shanahan scored five of the nine points, opening the spurt with a three-pointer and layup. The Dolphins maintained a 35-23 lead with 1:35 left in the half before NJCU scored the final five points of the stanza from the line, with Suarez connecting on two foul shots before Garcia added three, including two off a CSI technical foul, as the Knights shaved the host lead to 35-28.

Staten Island continued to lead throughout the second half but was unable to build an advantage of more than seven as the period progressed. With 9:26 to go, Rosado buried a three for a 50-43 lead. But Suarez scored off a Hernaiz offensive rebound, Carmona drilled a jumper and was fouled for a three-point swing and with 7:13 remaining a steal by Hernaiz led to a fast break basket for Garcia, who knotted the score at 50-50.

CSI countered, scoring the next seven points for a 57-50 margin as Tierno scored three points, before Rosado sank two foul shots and later connected on a jumper with 3:58 to go. The run increased to 11-3 when Tierno converted a layup off a Shanahan feed with 2:07 to go, as CSI built a 61-53 cushion.

NJCU asserted itself late, trying to muster a comeback. A free throw by sophomore forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) with 1:39 to go was followed with a steal and fast break basket by Garcia with 1:22 to play. NJCU regained possession on a charge by the Dolphins and Carmona's layup with 46 seconds on the clock made it a three-point, 61-58 game.

The Knights fouled the Dolphins who missed a 1-and-1 and Hernaiz grabbed the rebound. Suarez made it a one-point game with 21 seconds left, 61-60. But on the inbounds, Suarez was charged with a rare, last-minute intentional foul. With 18 seconds left Tocco missed both free throw chances for CSI. With the Dolphins getting the ball back, NJCU was forced to foul again and Shanahan converted both free throws with 11 seconds to play. NJCU needed a three-pointer to tie, but Tocco stole the ball and made one foul shot to ice the game.

NJCU lost the game despite owning a margin in every specialty statistical scoring area—points in the paint, points off turnovers, second chance points, fast break points and bench scoring.

NJCU will be idle over the holidays until January 5 when it visits St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) for a 9 p.m. non-conference game.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—