The College of Staten Island women’s basketball squad got back in the win column tonight, scoring a 66-53 win over CUNYAC-rivals City College of New York in play this evening at the Nat Holman Gymnasium in Manhattan. The Dolphins, who broke a three-game skid, lifted their overall mark to 6-8 and improved to 3-2 in CUNYAC play, while the Beavers, losers of five in a row, fell to 2-11, 1-5, respectively.
CSI led from start to finish in this contest, getting out to a fast start and then weathering a series of Beavers storms en route to the win. The Dolphins scored the first five markers of the game on jumpers from seniors Megan Myhre and Nikki Fabozzi, and then extended to a 12-5 edge on a Victoria Crea freebie. In a recurring theme, CCNY powered back, cutting the CSI lead to 13-12 on a Carol Yu jumper at the 11:54 mark.
After a shooting funk, the Dolphins snapped out after a six-minute drought without a field goal at 9:11 on a Jacqueline Diaz jumper, starting what would be a 19-8 run that lasted into the first half’s final minute. The run featured back-to-back Crea lay-ups and three-point bombs from Myhre and Jamie Pifalo. CSI led 32-20 at 1:10, before settling for a 32-22 halftime edge.
Shooting just 28% in the first half, CSI lifted its game in the early stages of the second frame, and blazed to a 15-2 run spanning three minutes to take a commanding 49-28 lead with 14:05 to play. Freshman Christina Pasaturo contributed 10 points in the run, started by back-to-back three-pointers.
The home Beavers made things interesting when a pair of Kerniesha Williams lay-ups and a three-pointer by Karissa Core sparked a 10-0 run for CCNY, cutting CSI’s lead to 51-40 with 9:12 to play. CCNY had a chance to cut into the lead further, but after misfiring twice, Myhre hit another big three for CSI to shift momentum again.
The Dolphins went up again by 16 moments later, and from there, CCNY was never able to come back to within 11 points, and CSI ultimately settled for a cozy, 66-53, win.
The Dolphins rebounded to shoot 40% in the second frame, lifting their mark to 33% for the game, the same as CCNY. CSI did a good deal of damage from the free-throw line connecting on 15-21, while CCNY was limited to just a 5-8 clip. The Beavers out-rebounded CSI, 48-46, but committed 22 turnovers to CSI’s 16. Leading the way for the Dolphins was Pasaturo with 22 points, adding four rebounds and four assists. Crea finished with 14 markers, with Myhre adding 11 points and Fabozzi adding 11 rebounds. CCNY was paced by Bria Fisher’s 13 points and 10 rebounds, while both Core and Robin Daley finalized with 12 points.
The win for CSI was the 25th-straight over CCNY dating back to the 1995-96 season. CSI now leads the overall series over the Beavers 34-21.
CSI is next in action on Friday, when they travel to the Bronx to face Lehman College at 5:30pm in another conference test.
