Old Westbury - 73, Farmingdale State - 51

Old Westbury, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team traveled to Old Westbury for a conference matchup on Thursday evening and fell, 73-51. The Panthers had four players score in double-digits as they improved to 16-3 overall and 9-3 in the Skyline.

Trailing 19-15 with 5:54 left to play in the second, FSC (11-8, 9-4) sophomore forward AJ Smith (Freeport, N.Y.) connected on a 3 to cut the deficit to one. Old Westbury responded with an 8-0 run to open up a nine-point advantage and took a 29-22 lead into halftime.

After a Smith layup early in the third pulled the Rams within six, three straight baskets by the Panthers extended their lead to 37-25 with 6:28 on the clock.

Trailing 42-35 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Farmingdale State used a 5-0 run over the next 1:16 to close within two, 42-40. Old Westbury ended the third with a free-throw and back-to-back layups from sophomore guard Monique Joseph (Elmont, N.Y.) to take a 47-40 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Over the first 4:18 of the fourth, the Panthers outscored the Rams 12-4 to extend the lead to 59-44. Old Westbury led by at least 11 points the remainder of the game en route to the 73-51 victory.

Smith finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Essence Casey (Huntington Station, N.Y.) added 15 points, nine boards and a team-high four assists for FSC.

Senior center Ruth Vargas (Brentwood, N.Y.) led the way for OW with 18 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and three steals.

Farmingdale State next will travel to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn for a Skyline Conference game on Saturday, February 4th at 4:00 p.m.

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