The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team has matched its longest win streak of the season, and they will look to keep the ball rolling tonight, when they take to the road to battle the Beavers of City College of New York. The host CCNY unit most recently had their five-game win streak snapped at the hands of Lehman College and will look to bounce back in this crucial CUNYAC match-up.
CSI vs. CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (13-6 overall, 9-2 CUNYAC) vs. City College of New York (12-8 Overall, 7-4 CUNYAC)
Where: Nat Holman Gymnasium – 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY
Tip-Off: 5:00pm
Live Video: http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet
All-Time Series: CSI leads, 36-21
This Year’s Result: CSI defeated CCNY, 69-57
Players To Watch (CSI): Christina Pasaturo is coming off of a quality showing this weekend, dumping in a team-high 21 points against Brooklyn in a big win. She lifted her season average to 17.6 per game, and continues to be among the nation’s leaders in assists with 127, good for sixth among all NCAA Division III players. Coming on strong has been freshman Nicole Vierno, who poured in 15 points on Saturday and is now averaging 9.1 per game with a team high 35 blocked shots, good for 50th nationally. Last time these two teams faced off, CSI’s Samantha Flecker had a big game, posting 17 points with a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.
Players To Watch (CCNY): The Beavers are getting great production from duo Tiara Brown and Erika Richards. Brown leads the squad with 15.8 points per game, adding a sensational 13.6 rebounds per game as well. Richards counters with 13.8 markers per game, and leads the squad with 36 long-range shots from behind the arc. Look for Liz Durchhalter to be a factor. She is second on the squad in three’s and CCNY’s best free-throw shooter at over 75%.
News & Notes: Despite CCNY’s recent success, CSI was able to score a 12-point win the last time these teams met, and have now won 27 games in a row against the Beavers since 1997. That mark includes 12 in a row played at the Nat Holman Gym. The Dolphins are ranked 24th in the nation in scoring offense, boasting 74.3 points per game. Barring overtime, CSI has won their last 10 games when scoring 70 or more points. CCNY is in a similar position defensively. They are among the stingiest teams, allowing just 56.8 per game. When they’ve been able to hold opponents to under 60, they have won their last six games, a mark that included their recent five-game win streak, when they allowed just 47.6 per game. Both teams do a great job forcing turnovers and will look to continue that tonight. CSI is 6-2 when forcing 25 or more turnovers in a game and CCNY is a +5.1 in turnover differential this season. Look for both teams to want to get good starts tonight. CCNY is outscoring their opponents in the first quarter by 80 points, while the Dolphins have outscored theirs by 70 points in the first quarter.
