The College of Staten Island women’s basketball squad from valiantly from start to finish, but could not get the better of No. 2 Brooklyn College, as the seventh-seeded Dolphins fell to the Bulldogs, 79-62, as part of the 32nd Annual CUNYAC/Con Edison Postseason Championship.  The Dolphins finalized their 2010-11 season at 8-17 while the Bulldogs upped their overall mark to 16-10, and will face No. 3 Lehman College in the CUNYAC Semifinals on Tuesday.
Despite the final score, CSI found themselves in a heated contest with Brooklyn from the very beginning, and used a series of runs to pull very close on a number of occasions before Brooklyn rallied midway through the second half to put the game out of reach.  CSI braved a comeback despite not connecting on a shot from the field until the 11:33 mark, as the team fell behind, 13-3, until a Rachel Rosado lay-up broke up an 0-for-8 start for the Dolphins from the field.
Shortly before, an Ariel Smith three and a driving lay-up by Ashley Allen gave Brooklyn their biggest lead of the first half, 15-4, with 12:32 to go.  CSI asked for time-out, and used it to their advantage, spending the rest of the stanza chipping away at the Bulldogs lead.  An Allie Shanahan three-pointer capped a 12-2 run by the Dolphins to make it 17-16 over the next four minutes, and then, with 3:42 to play in the frame, an 11-2 run by the Dolphins gave the visitors a 31-26 edge.  Shanahan caught fire in the run, scoring the final six points.
CSI’s run was short-lived, however, as a Lauren Plagainos three and then a jumper and three-pointer by Allison Donovan helped Brooklyn close on an 8-0 run to take a 34-31 lead into the locker room at half.
The 8-0 run was extended to 16-0 as Brooklyn scored the first eight points of the second half, spearheaded by a pair of Tiayana Logan lay-ups.  CSI wouldn’t quit, however, and a Nicole Quattrocchi three book-ended by a pair of Shanahan treys capped a 9-1 run to make the score 43-40 in Brooklyn’s favor with 15:25 to go.  That proved to be as close as the Dolphins would go as CSI would then go 0-for-11 from the floor over the next six minutes, as Brooklyn assumed control over that stretch with a 9-0 run.
CSI cut the lead by 9, 54-45, on a Rosado jumper and Shanahan three, but Brooklyn bolted again via a 17-4 run to blow the game open.  From there, the closest CSI would get was 74-60 with 58 seconds to play.
For Brooklyn, Smith led the way with a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds.  Plagainos and Justine O’Callahan pitched in with 11 points apiece.  For CSI, Allie Shanahan finished with 22 points while Rosado and Katelyn Hepworth poured in 14 points apiece.  Brooklyn out-rebounded CSI , 52-38, winning the game despite 25 turnovers.