After a win in their regular season finale that secured them a share of the CUNYAC Regular Season Championship, the Dolphins will usher in the 2016 CUNYAC Women’s Basketball Postseason Championship Tournament on Sunday against Hunter College at the Sports & Recreation Center, at 1pm. The Dolphins drew the No. 3 seed in the Tournament, and earned their way into this second round game via a bye in the first round. No. 6 Hunter defeated No. 7 John Jay College, 59-50, this past Thursday in first round action, to advance to play host CSI. The winner will play Brooklyn College in the CUNYAC Semifinals played at City College of New York on Wednesday evening.
CSI vs. HUNTER COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (17-7 overall, 13-3 CUNYAC) vs. Hunter College (10-16 Overall, 5-10 CUNYAC)
Where: Sports & Recreation Center – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
Tip-Off: 1:00pm
Ticket Info: Free for all guests
Live Video: http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet
All-Time Series: Hunter leads 37-30
This Year’s Results: CSI won both – 73-57 & 75-48
Players To Watch (CSI): Christina Pasaturo and Samantha Flecker are coming off all-star selections by the CUNYAC and continue to pace CSI in scoring, averaging 33.4 points between them. Flecker adds a team-leading 8.4 rebounds per game, while Pasaturo’s 157 assists this season are just 19 shy of the all-time single season record. Freshman Nicole Vierno was named Rookie of the Year and is averaging a healthy 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds averaging 19.3 minutes per contest.
Players To Watch (HC): The Hawks’ balanced attack is led by Widly Couloute’s 13.2 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. Jade Aponte is right on her heels averaging 13.1 per contest having played in two less games. Ashley Yu is Hunter’s only other double digit scorer, posting 10.4 points per game. The trio account for over 63% of Hunter’s scoring offense this season. Look for Ayanna Hudson to be a factor. In two games against CSI this season, Hudson averaged 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest.
News & Notes: Although Hunter has the overall lead, CSI has had the better of the series most recently, having won seven of the last 9 meetings, including the last four by an average of 16.3 points per contest. In two games against the Hawks this season, CSI’s defense was the story, holding the Hawks to just 31.8% shooting and 52.5 points per game. CSI is 8-6 all-time against Hunter as part of the CUNYAC Tournament, with the Hawks having defeated CSI in the most recent matchup in the 2014 Semifinal round, which also marked Hunter’s last win in the series. CSI’s last win over Hunter in the postseason was back in the 2007 tournament, when CSI used overtime to squeak by HC, 50-49 in Quarterfinal play. CSI’s last CUNYAC Championship came back in 2005, when they defeated Hunter…Look for three-point shooting to be a major statistic in this game. CSI shot a blistering 18-40 (45%) from beyond the arc in their two games against Hunter this season, while the Hawks struggled mightily, connecting on just 16% (5-32). Big first halves have also powered the Dolphins. In their opening meeting CSI got out to a monster, 20-5, lead at the end of the first quarter, and in the second matchup, CSI held Hunter to just six second quarter points to take a 12-point halftime edge. The winner of tonight’s game will next play No. 2 Brooklyn College on Wednesday. The Bulldogs earned a two-round bye straight into the Semifinals, as did No. 1 Lehman College. The other second round game today features No. 4 CCNY taking on No. 8 York College at 3pm today. The winner of that game will face Lehman on Wednesday at 6pm. After tonight’s action, the remaining action takes place at CCNY.
