The College of Staten Island women’s basketball squad has been idle for over a week, but after falling in the CUNYAC Tournament Semifinals, the team has now earned a berth into the ECAC Metro NY/NJ / Upstate Postseason Basketball Tournament. IN the four-team spread, CSI is the No. 3 seed, and will play No. 2 Rutgers-Camden at 7:15pm at the campus of Brooklyn College, who will serve as tournament host. No. 1 Brooklyn hosts No. 4 Centenary College (NJ), at 5:00pm.
CSI vs. RUTGERS-CAMDEN AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (18-8 overall, 13-3 CUNYAC) vs. Rutgers-Camden (15-10 Overall, 10-8 NJAC)
Where: Brooklyn College – 2900 Bedford Ave. – Brooklyn, NY
Tip-Off: 7:15pm
Live Audio: http://mywbcr.com/
All-Time Series: RU-Camden leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: February 17, 2014 – RU won 78-60
Players to Watch (CSI): CUNYAC All-Star Christina Pasaturo notched 23 points and five assists when CSI last took the floor against Brooklyn on February 24. She leads the Dolphins with 18.3 points per game and is 90 points away from 1,000 in her career as a sophomore. Samantha Flecker posted 16 points in that contest and she is second on the squad this season with 15.6 points per game, leading the way with 8.5 rebounds per contest. Guards Victoria Gallinaro, Jamie Pifalo and Angelique Price all fouled out in that game against Brooklyn and will look for bounce-back performances tonight.
Players To Watch (RU): Kamri Talley has been a force all year long for the Scarlet Raptors. On a team averaging 62 points per game, Talley accounts for 21.1 points per contest, also leading the way with 13.5 rebounds per contest and a total of 64 steals. Gabby Greene is another threat as The Raptors’ most proficient three-point scorer, averaging 11.2 points per game. Michelle Obasi rounds out the scoring threat with 10.3 per contest. None of the three played two years ago when these two teams met during the regular season
News & Notes: In a series that dates back to as far as 1994, the Dolphins have been shut out, having lost all four previous meetings. This is the first neutral site and postseason pairing of the two schools in their history, and the closest contest in the series came back in 2006, with the Raptors defeated the Dolphins, 57-45. In the four all-time meetings, RU-Camden has won by an average margin of 35.3 points. Tonight marks the Dolphins’ 12th entry into the ECAC postseason. They are 11-10 all-time in ECAC postseason play and are 4-4 all-time in semifinal games. Their last semifinal round victory came in 2009, when they went on to beat Lehman College in the ECAC championship game, their only tournament championship. Last year, CSI crushed New Rochelle in the quarterfinals, 105-39, before falling to Rutgers-Newark in overtime in the semifinals, 81-75. Rutgers- Camden is one of the nation’s best teams at garnering steals, and they are 5-0 this season when posting over 15 steals in games. CSI is equally successful at getting turnovers. When they force 25+ per game, they are 9-3 this season. The winner of tonight’s semifinal will move on to the Final tomorrow afternoon at Brooklyn College at 1pm.
