The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team hosted Division I opponent Wagner College at The Tank tonight for an epic Battle of the Borough clash. The Battle of the Borough partnered with the 30,000 Degrees Initiative which aims to give 30,000 Staten Island students a degree by 2025. The Dolphins ultimately fell 63-58 to the Seahawks which dropped them to 2-1 on the year while the Seahawks earned their first win of the season to improve to 1-4.
The game got off to a slow start in front of a packed gymnasium as through the first six minutes of the game the score was 5-3. Samantha Flecker tallied two of her six points on the night from the free-throw line to tie the game up at five. From that point, the Dolphins took control of the game and would extend their lead to 16 after a 15-2 run gave the Dolphins a 29-13 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. During that run, Christina Pasaturo drained three, three-point shots while Angelique Price converted a pair from the line before sinking a three-point of her own.
However, the Dolphins quickly saw their large lead fade away as the second quarter began to come to a close. Wagner would close out the half on an 11-0 run which shrunk the Dolphins’ lead to just three heading into the locker room.
At the half, Wagner was had outscored the Dolphins 8-0 in the paint while the Dolphins’ quick hands led to 10 points off of turnovers. Wagner’s 11-0 run would carry over into the third quarter which allowed them to knot the game up at 29. The game would go back-and-forth for a majority of the third quarter. The Dolphins were able to find points in the paint with the insertion of Diana Todaro as her physical play allowed her to get inside for layups.
Heading into the fourth quarter the Dolphins held a seven-point lead and looked to be in full control of the game. Sierra Clark was the star of the night for Wagner, tallying 28 points on 10-15 shooting from the floor as she used her height to out-rebound the Dolphins to the tune of 14. Clark used her size to give the Seahawks second chance opportunities which was the ultimate deciding factor as they were able to defeat the Dolphins on the boards, 44-26.
Staten Island surrendered their lead with 4:52 left in the final quarter but were able to go ahead by as much as three points as Nicole Imbesi hit one-of-two free throw attempts. From that point on, the Dolphins would go cold as the Seahawks would find their stride. Down three, Wagner would finish the game on a 13-5 run which gave them their first win of the year.
Both teams combined for 55 turnovers in this contest, 22 for the Dolphins and 33 for the Seahawks. Wagner shot 47% from the floor while the Dolphins shot just 31%.
The Dolphins will return to action on Monday, November 27 where they will travel to take on Centenary College at 7 pm.
GAME VIDEO
