The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team got off to a tough start as part of the CUNYAC / U.S. Army ROTC Women’s Basketball Postseason Tournament Championship Semifinal round and never could recover, falling to Brooklyn College by a 69-57 count in action at the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of City College of New York this evening. Brooklyn (20-6) powered to a 20-1 start in the game’s opening 6:30, putting the game essentially out of reach of the Dolphins (16-11) who spent a majority of the remaining 34 minutes of the contest valiantly trying to mount a comeback. Brooklyn will move on to play top-seeded Baruch College, a 70-44 winner over Hunter College in their semifinal. For the Dolphins the season is over, and the team will await word on a potential ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament berth, which will be announced on Monday, March 2.
The Dolphins could not get anything going in the opening minutes, misfiring on their first 10 shots of the game which included eight three-point attempts. A couple of quick fouls each for Victoria Crea and Nikki Fabozzi put CSI in a further hole, and by the time Brooklyn powered to its hefty 19-point edge, the Bulldogs were sporting a commanding 16-3 edge in rebounds. Three baskets by BC’s Megan Campbell paced the Bulldogs helped along by a pair of three’s from Vanessa D’Ambrosi, who also added a pair of free-throws in the 20-1 run.
From there, the exercise for CSI was to try and scratch their way back in the game, and on a pair of occasions the Dolphins knocked the lead down to 11 points. A 10-2 run made the count 22-11 at the 10:08 first-half mark, helped along by a three-point play from Victoria Gallinaro and four straight Fabozzi freebies. Still, Brooklyn had an answer when it needed it, and even though the Bulldogs could not match its once 19-point edge, the team was able to keep CSI at distance, eventually settling for a 37-22 halftime edge. The frustrated Dolphins did not muster up a made field goal in the final 2:24 of the frame, and finished just 5-30 from the floor in the stanza, good for a chilly 17%.
The shooting woes continued into the second frame, but CSI worked its way back, using back-to-back three’s by Gallinaro and Christina Pasaturo to cut the BC lead to just 43-33 with 13:31 to go in the game. The teams traded baskets from there on a pair of occasions, but in a big turning point, CSI had a chance to knock the lead to under 10, but a lay-up by Nacirema Mann at 7:36 and an immediate three-pointer by Chrissy Heyer gave Brooklyn back a commanding 57-40 edge at 6:59.
From there, Brooklyn made sure to milk the shot clock on each possession, and ultimately CSI was unable to make up much ground. Five-straight Alyssa Carlsen points cut the BC lead to eight 65-57, but with only 48 seconds left, BC made four of six foul shots down the stretch to eventual pull back up to double-digits en route to a 69-57 win.
D’Ambrosi led all scorers with 20 points while Campbell dropped in 16 with eight rebounds. Asia Foster amassed 17 rebounds including 11 on the offensive glass as Brooklyn as a team out-rebounded CSI, 60-39. CSI was led by Carlsen’s 13 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes. Gallinaro added 11 points while Pasaturo finalized with 10 points and 9 rebounds. CSI finished just 27.3% from the field (18-66) and were just 7-32 from the three-point line. Brooklyn committed a heavy 21 turnovers but did connect on 6-11 shots from beyond the arc, good for a balmy 55%.
For the Dolphins, it was their seventh-straight loss as part of CUNYAC Semifinal play, their longest skid in any round of the CUNYAC Tournament. Brooklyn has taken all three meetings this season, and despite CSI’s overall 33-14 record in the all-time series, BC improved to 3-1 all-time against the Dolphins in the CUNYAC Postseason Tournament.
Selections to the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament will take place on the afternoon on Monday, March 2. The Dolphins will hope to be in the mix. Be sure to consult www.csidolphins.com for the latest information.
