The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team bounced back nicely after a tough loss to City College of New York this afternoon against York College at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center in Staten Island, NY. The women pulled away toward the end of the game to walk away with a 70-58 victory over the Cardinals to improve to 14-7 overall and 10-3 in the CUNYAC. The Cardinals fell to 4-17 overall and 2-11 in the CUNYAC.
Staten Island dominated the game over the first three minutes and didn’t allow a shot from York however, the Dolphins went 0-for-7 over that same span. The women would finally find their groove midway through the first quarter when Nicole Vierno got going on the inside and a nice move for a lay in. CSI would go on a 6-2 scoring run after not scoring for three minutes to give them a four point lead over the Cardinals.
Samantha Flecker would then give the Dolphins their largest lead of the quarter when she sank a three-point shot to put the Dolphins up seven with 4:47 to go. The Cardinals would rally back after that shot and bring it back to just a two point lead. CSI would end the first quarter the same way it was started with five missed lay ups.
The women wouldn’t allow the first quarter to get to them as they came back and had a strong 22-point second quarter over the Cardinals. It was a back-and-forth scoring affair in the first half of the second quarter as both teams continued to match each other. As the half began to come to a close the Dolphins started to catch fire and went on an 11-4 run to end the half up 39-26. Angelique Price was a big part in that run as she went to the line twice and converted all four of her free-throws.
The Dolphins went into the locker room holding a huge 17-2 edge in points off of turnovers while the Cardinals held an 18-14 lead in points in the paint. Flecker led the Dolphins in scoring at the half with 10 points while Samantha Bond of York led all scorers with 11 points. Jigcara Grant had a massive 15 rebounds at the half for the Cardinals which led to them holding a 26-20 edge in rebounds over the Dolphins.
Victoria Gallinaro drained her first three of the game at the start of the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 14 points. After a series of missed shots by the Cardinals the Dolphins were finally able to get their hands on a rebound and drive down the court. The women used quick passes and eventually found Flecker wide open for one of her two three’s to give the Dolphins their largest lead of the game with 5:28 remaining in the quarter. CSI would go ice cold for the rest of the quarter and would not score a point while the Cardinals got settled and went on a 14-0 run to put them within just three at the conclusion of the third.
Both teams would once again go scoreless for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Flecker was finally able to break the silence with a lay up to end their seven minute scoreless run. Jamie Pifalo caught fire just when the Dolphins were in desperate need of some points and hit back-to-back three pointers. Christina Pasaturo would also hit a three to extend their lead even further. The women stepped up their defense as the game began to wind down and finished the game on a 12-3 run after holding the Cardinals scoreless for a stretch of five minutes.
The women return to action on Tuesday, February 9 at 5:30 pm at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center for the third annual BLACK OUT against Medgar Evers College. The first 200 fans will receive a FREE black CSI Dolphins t-shirt!
