Feb 22, 2011
New York, NY --- The #2 seeded Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team fell to the #3 seeded Lightning of Lehman College on Tuesday night in the Semifinals of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC)/Con Edison Women's Basketball Championships, held at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of CCNY, by a score of 54-39.
The Lightning (17-10) advance to the championship game, where they will meet up with the top seeded Bearcats of Baruch College on Saturday, February 26th at 3:00 pm.
Lehman had a trio of players in double figure scoring, as Louvinia Hayes and Jaleesa Gordon each dropped 17 points, while Amanda De La Cruz added 13 points. Gordon also grabbed game-high 12 rebounds for the double-double.
The Bulldogs were led by junior Lauren Plagainos who notched a team-high 10 points. Sophomore Tiayana Logan recorded 10 rebounds, while senior Ariel Smith finished the night with four assists, six steals, eight rebounds and five points.
The first half featured a defensive showcase as both teams struggled from the field. The Lightning shot 25% (8-for-32) from the floor, while the Bulldogs shot 23.3% (7-for-30) from the field. Brooklyn was forced into 17 first half turnovers, while Lehman turned the ball over on 10 occasions in the opening stanza.
With the Bulldogs trailing by four, 7-3, early in the game with 14:54 left before the halftime break, Brooklyn used a 13-3 run to take a six point advantage, 16-10, with 7:45 remaining in the half. Three-pointers from both Plagainos and Smith helped spark the run.
Down by six, 18-12, at the 6:53 mark, the Lightning closed out the half on an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead at halftime.
Brooklyn's shooting woes from the field would continue in the second half, as the Bulldogs shot 25.9% (7-for-27) from the field in the second period. The Lightning on the other hand would find its groove, hitting 44.4% (12-for-27) from the floor in the second stanza, outscoring BC by a 34-21 margin in the half.
After a made bucket and a free throw from senior Elisha Raiford cut the Brooklyn deficit to three, 26-23, with 16:08 left in the game, the Lightning would begin to put the game away going on a 16-1 run, to take a 42-24 advantage at the 10:54 mark on the second half. Hayes helped key the run scoring eight points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers.
Brooklyn would be unable to recover from its scoring drought, as the Lightning would lead by double digits the rest of the way, cruising to the 54-39 victory.
For the game, BC shot 24.6% (14-for-57) from the field, compared to Lehman going 33.9% (20-for-59) from the floor. The Bulldogs also turned the ball over 30 times in the game, which led to 26 points off turnovers for the Lightning. Brooklyn held the rebounding edge 47-40, but it would be Lehman who would take advantage of the offensive glass, scoring 22 second chance points, compared to Brooklyn scoring 14 second chance points.
Brooklyn (16-11) will now await a possible at-large bid into the ECAC Division III Metro Tournament.
The Lightning (17-10) advance to the championship game, where they will meet up with the top seeded Bearcats of Baruch College on Saturday, February 26th at 3:00 pm.
Lehman had a trio of players in double figure scoring, as Louvinia Hayes and Jaleesa Gordon each dropped 17 points, while Amanda De La Cruz added 13 points. Gordon also grabbed game-high 12 rebounds for the double-double.
The Bulldogs were led by junior Lauren Plagainos who notched a team-high 10 points. Sophomore Tiayana Logan recorded 10 rebounds, while senior Ariel Smith finished the night with four assists, six steals, eight rebounds and five points.
The first half featured a defensive showcase as both teams struggled from the field. The Lightning shot 25% (8-for-32) from the floor, while the Bulldogs shot 23.3% (7-for-30) from the field. Brooklyn was forced into 17 first half turnovers, while Lehman turned the ball over on 10 occasions in the opening stanza.
With the Bulldogs trailing by four, 7-3, early in the game with 14:54 left before the halftime break, Brooklyn used a 13-3 run to take a six point advantage, 16-10, with 7:45 remaining in the half. Three-pointers from both Plagainos and Smith helped spark the run.
Down by six, 18-12, at the 6:53 mark, the Lightning closed out the half on an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead at halftime.
Brooklyn's shooting woes from the field would continue in the second half, as the Bulldogs shot 25.9% (7-for-27) from the field in the second period. The Lightning on the other hand would find its groove, hitting 44.4% (12-for-27) from the floor in the second stanza, outscoring BC by a 34-21 margin in the half.
After a made bucket and a free throw from senior Elisha Raiford cut the Brooklyn deficit to three, 26-23, with 16:08 left in the game, the Lightning would begin to put the game away going on a 16-1 run, to take a 42-24 advantage at the 10:54 mark on the second half. Hayes helped key the run scoring eight points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers.
Brooklyn would be unable to recover from its scoring drought, as the Lightning would lead by double digits the rest of the way, cruising to the 54-39 victory.
For the game, BC shot 24.6% (14-for-57) from the field, compared to Lehman going 33.9% (20-for-59) from the floor. The Bulldogs also turned the ball over 30 times in the game, which led to 26 points off turnovers for the Lightning. Brooklyn held the rebounding edge 47-40, but it would be Lehman who would take advantage of the offensive glass, scoring 22 second chance points, compared to Brooklyn scoring 14 second chance points.
Brooklyn (16-11) will now await a possible at-large bid into the ECAC Division III Metro Tournament.