On a night when the College of Staten Island women’s basketball team would honor its two seniors and conclude its conference slate of games, it was Brooklyn College that scored a heavy-handed 82-59 win over the host Dolphins in the CUNYAC finale for both squads.  The Dolphins fell to 8-15 overall and 6-7 with the loss, while Brooklyn soared to 15-9, 11-2, respectively.
Three straight Allie Shanahan points to open the game for CSI gave the Dolphins a 3-2 lead, but it would be their last for the game as Brooklyn led from start to finish to sweep the season series.  Shanahan, who was honored before the game along with fellow senior Nicole Quattrocchi, scored the first five points for CSI, but by that time BC had already pulled ahead to an 11-5 lead with 15:47 to go.  Later in the frame a pivotal 15-2 BC run spanning just three minutes gave the Bulldogs a commanding 31-12 edge with 8:48 still to play.  Ariel Smith and Justine O’Callahan both buried a pair of shots in the run.
CSI would work the BC lead down to 12 via a Katelyn Hepworth jumper at 5:41, but BC would close the half on a 12-5 run to go into the lockers with a sizable 43-24 advantage.
Mired in poor shooting, CSI opened the second frame shooting just 25% in the first five minutes of the second frame, while BC scored a 15-4 run to balloon their lead to 30, 58-28.  Brooklyn lead by as many as 31 on two occasions while CSI was never able to come to within 22 the rest of the way.
Brooklyn, which shot a healthy 49.3% from the field, was led by O’Callahan’s (9 rebounds) and Lauren Plagainos’ 16 points, while Elisha Raiford poured in 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.  Shanahan led all scorers with 25 points, despite a 10-for-31 performance from the field as CSI shot just 33.3% as a team.
The Dolphins will finalize their regular season with a visit to Mount Saint Vincent College on Wednesday, February 16 at 7pm before the CUNYAC Playoffs begin on Saturday, February 19.  Although unconfirmed, it would appear that CSI will finish with the No. 7 seeding for the eight-team tournament, drawing No. 2 Brooklyn in the quarterfinals.