The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team used a strong second half, which included a 28-8 start, to whip by John Jay College as part of CUNYAC play, 61-42, in their regular season home finale at the Sports & Recreation Center. CSI advanced to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in CUNY with the win, while the Bloodhounds fell to 5-10, 2-4, respectively.
In a back-and-forth first stanza, CSI raced out to a 9-4 lead after the game’s first four minutes, sparked by a five-point outburst by Katelyn Hepworth. An 8-2 John Jay run then gave the visitors their first lead, as, John Jay used their bruising rebounding game (they led in rebounds, 30-13, after the first half) to get second-chance opportunities. Down by a bucket, CSI eventually back up at 11:48, as a Jaclyn Tocco steal and fast-break layup gave CSI a 15-13 lead, and from there the Dolphins never trailed.
Free throws by Nikki Fabozzi gave CSI their biggest lead of six in the first half, and the Dolphins managed to take a 26-22 lead into the locker room. The Dolphins to that point were thriving on the turnover, earning 14 points off John Jay turnovers to the Bloodhounds’ five.
The second half was a different story, as CSI jumped on top early and never looked back. CSI opened with an 8-0 run, aided by two Fabozzi inside lay-ins. When a Tyana Hale layup cut the lead to 34-24, the Dolphins then went on a numbing 24-6 run spanning almost 10 minutes. The Bloodhounds were forced into 9 turnovers over that stretch, part of 35 on the afternoon. The Bloodhounds rebounded, and actually finished the game on a 10-0 run over the final 5:03, but by then CSI had a commanding edge and the Bloodhounds were too far out of reach.
CSI’s Fabozzi led all scorers with 19 points, with Hepworth adding 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. The Bloodhounds got a nice performance from Jamecia Forsythe, who netted 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Bloodhounds led the rebounding war 51-33, but committed 35 turnovers to CSI’s 16.
CSI will next play Lehman College as part of conference play on Wednesday, January 25 at 5:00pm. The game will be played at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York, NY.
