The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team had their first game of the new year this afternoon against Brooklyn College. The Bulldogs continued their three game win streak with a 66-59 victory over the Dolphins. With the win the Bulldogs improve to 7-3 overall and 5-0 in the CUNYAC while CSI fell to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the CUNYAC.
The Dolphins opened up the scoring this afternoon with a nice drive through a couple of defenders by freshman forward, Christina Pasaturo. The Bulldogs however, would immediately answer back with a three-point basket by senior guard, Nicole Francomano to give Brooklyn a one point lead. Pasaturo continued to lead the Dolphins as she would lay one in for the first of six ties in the first half.
CSI was playing aggressive inside the Brooklyn paint which led to a lopsided 6-0 foul count early in the game which resulted in the Dolphins heading to the foul line to shoot 14 free throws of which they converted 9.
The women were able to keep the game within a point or two for a majority of the first half until the Bulldogs managed to go on a 10-0 run to pull away from the Dolphins. Pasaturo was able to stop the scoring onslaught by scoring a three-point basket with 2:27 remaining in the half to bring the Dolphins to within seven before the end of the first half.
CSI shot a dismal 29% (8-27) from the floor in the first half while the Bulldogs shot 33% (13-40) from the floor. The women were able to capitalize on 64% of their free throws in the first half going 9-14. The Bulldogs used their size against the Dolphins and it showed in the first half as they were able to out rebound CSI 32-19 and cash in on 14 second chance points.
The Dolphins came out of the locker room in the second half looking fresh, as they were moving the ball with pace and finding the open players which led to a 6-0 run which closed the gap to just one point. Midway through the second half the Bulldogs would regain their form and go on a 7-0 run of their own to take a 51-41 lead with 11:00 remaining.
Jacqueline Diaz had a solid game for the Dolphins as she recorded seven points and two rebounds, with four of those points coming in a crucial time to whittle down the Bulldog lead to a manageable four points with 7:56 remaining in the game.
A jumper and layup by Victoria Crea and Pasaturo gave the Dolphins their first and only lead of the second half. That lead would unfortunately not last long and would turn out to be the last basket the Dolphins would make for a 4:32 minute span.
The Dolphins finished the game with 33.9% shooting from the floor while converting 11-17 (64.7%) free-throws in the game. Pasaturo finished with a team high 14 points while Megan Myhre and Nikki Fabozzi poured in eight apiece. Fabozzi did her best to win the battle of the boards and came away with 8 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.
The women are back in action January 6 against CCNY on the road at 5:00 pm.
