Down by seven points going into the final frame, the College of Staten Island women’s basketball team outscored Drew University, 27-15, in the final frame to secure a 76-71 win on the road in Madison, NJ, in what was their final non-conference game of the season. The win was the 9th in a row for the Dolphins, lifting them to 17-4 overall while dumping the Rangers to 8-11.
The Dolphins got off to a solid 5-0 start thanks to teo baskets by Samantha Flecker, but that set the stage for a back-and-forth first half. CSI would get off to a 9-2 start before a three by Hannah Miller and two freebies by by Ryan Jackson got Drew even at 15-15 before both squads would add a bucket to make it a 17-17 game at the end of 10 minutes.
A jumper by leading scorer Christina Pasaturo got the Dolphins back up by a couple of possessions in the second quarter, until the Rangers punched back, and a jumper by Sam Lane got the home team ahead, 25-24, with 6:11 to go in the frame. The Dolphins would jump back ahead on another Pasaturo three, but a countering three by Miller with less than a minute to go gave the Rangers a 37-36 halftime edge.
The Rangers then hit the ground running in the second half, going on a 10-3 run to start the third to take a 47-39 lead, five minutes into the third, powered by two Jackson baskets. Consecutive three’s by Flecker and Pasaturo for CSI cut the lead to two, but with inside of two minutes to go in the third, baskets by Jane and Jackson again put Drew up by eight before the Dolphins cut it to 56-49, going into the final quadrant.
With the home squad mired in poor shooting, CSI then took advantage. Angelique Price hit a three 54 seconds into the fourth to cut the lead to 59-55, and after a Drew miss, CSI got four attempts at a shot before Lina Bitar canned a big shot to cut it to 59-58. Then, after three-straight misses the other way, Flecker nailed another three, and with 6:59 to go CSI had a 61-59 edge.
In another pivotal stretch, Drew was able to cut the lead to 69-68 with 3:30 to go, but with the ball in their hands and a chance to take the lead, Drew went 0-3 from the field with four turnovers in the next three minutes, and CSI responded with four-straight Victoria Crea free-throws to make it 73-68 with 25 ticks to go. Miller finally registered for Drew with a three to make it 74-71 with seven seconds left, but after a quick foul, Crea sank another two free-throws to ice the game for CSI.
The Dolphins got a big, 27-point performance from Flecker, who added 11 rebounds, also a team high. Pasaturo finished with 23, adding six rebounds and a game high seven assists. Lane led all drew scorers with 16 points, adding six rebounds, while Jackson was good for 14 points and 10 rebounds. Drew out-rebounded CSI, 41-36, but CSI was a +8 in the turnover column, forcing 18 Rangers miscues.
The Dolphins will be right back on the court tomorrow, when they play host to Medgar Evers College at the Sports & Recreation Center at 5:30pm.
