The College of Staten Island women’s basketball squad broke their three game losing streak tonight when they defeated Hunter College 73-57 in New York, NY for their first CUNYAC meeting of the season. The Dolphins improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the CUNYAC while the Hawks fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the CUNYAC.
The sophomore duo once again led the Dolphins to victory as they combined for 30 of the Dolphins’ 73 points. Christina Pasaturo finished the game with 14 points on 3-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe. Samantha Flecker, who was honored on the All-Tournament team at the Kean Classic led the Dolphins with 16 points on 6-11 shooting and a total of four rebounds.
Staten Island wasted no time in this game and quickly jumped out to a 14-3 lead by a pair of three-point shots from Flecker and Angelique Price. Price poured in a career high 13 points tonight which helped the Dolphins as one of their shooters, Victoria Gallinaro, had an off night as she scored just four points on 0-11 shooting from the floor.
The women’s defense was stout in the first quarter and once again only allowed five points in a quarter for the second time this year. The Hawks were eventually able to find cracks in the Dolphins’ defense however which allowed them to stay in the game. With a large lead after the first quarter the Dolphins continued to keep the Hawks at bay as they had an answer for just about every shot that Hunter College took.
Jamie Pifalo came out and started the second half with a deep three ball to give the Dolphins a 20 point lead. Pifalo netted five points and tallied four assists in this contest.
The Dolphins were able to use the size of Nicole Vierno and Rosa Perone and dominate the paint in scoring however their height did not translate into rebounds as the Dolphins were out rebounded in this contest 47-44. Vierno and Perone will need to capitalize on their height moving forward as they will be a mismatch for any team that they face.
The fourth quarter saw a lot of action at the free throw line as the Hawks had to foul early and often to try and claw their way back into the game after being down by 20+. The Dolphins would not allow Hunter to find a way back into the game as they would convert their free throws and use up all of the shot clock before taking a shot.
In the end the Dolphins picked up a quality CUNYAC win and will now have a long break in the action as they don’t take to the court again until December 5 when they take on St. Joseph’s College – Brooklyn.
