The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team came close to grabbing its opening win of the season, but the Dolphins fell to the York College Cardinals in their conference opener by a 64-59 mark earlier this evening in Jamaica, Queens.  The loss sent the Dolphins to 0-4 this season (0-1 CUNYAC) while the Cardinals improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in CUNYAC play.
In what would amount to be a sloppy first half for both teams, both sides went into the locker rooms in a 23-23 deadlock.  Both teams had 17 first half turnovers, and even though CSI was shooting 41% over York’s 27% (10-37) in the first half, the Cardinals held the benefit of 15 first-half offensive rebounds, leading to a series of second chance points. 
CSI grabbed their first lead at 17-16, with 6:32 left on a layup by Olivia Tierno, and the Dolphins led the rest of the way in the first half until Joanna Josama drained a three with :04 left to tie  the game at the break.  CSI played 12 minutes of the first half without senior Allie Shanahan, who was lost due to foul trouble.
The second half featured a see-saw pace, with both teams taking control with a series of critical runs.  At the 16:27 mark, Tierno converted on another layup to finish a 10-0 run that gave CSI their biggest lead, 33-26, but York promptly called for timeout, and followed up with a 10-3 run of their own, spearheaded by a pair of Kedisha Wickham put-backs to knot the score, 36-36, with 11:59 to play.
CSI again responded, going on an 11-4 run over the next three minutes to again match its biggest lead of seven, 47-40.  From there, however, York had an answer that would hold up the rest of the way.  The home team reeled off a 10-0 run and grabbed their first lead with 7:36 to go.  After a pair of ties, the game went into the final two minutes, and CSI’s Nicole Quattrocchi hit a big trey with 1:52 left to give CSI a 57-54 lead.  But on the next trip down the floor, York’s Maimouna Dabo found an open Shadae Rice who drained a three of her own to knot the game again.  After CSI turned the ball over and Wickham scored an easy deuce down the other end, the Dolphins missed another shot and from there were forced to foul.  Rice made them pay again, knocking down five of the game’s final six free-throws to put the game on ice, helping York close the game on a 10-2 run.
For York, Wickham led all scorers with 26 points and 17 rebounds, adding seven steals.  Niya Jarvis dropped in 14 markers and 18 rebounds, while Rice finished with 12 points.  York out-rebounded CSi for the game, 54-38.  CSI was paced by Tierno’s 19 points, while Katelyn Hepworth played well with a 15-point, 14-rebound effort.
CSI returns to action on Tuesday, December 7, when they host Stevens Tech at 6pm in non-conference play.  For CSI, the 0-4 start is the slowest since the 1994-95 season, when the team started 0-5.