Brooklyn College went on a huge second half run to take a commanding 29-point lead, then almost saw it completely disappear as the College of Staten Island raced all the way but ultimately fell short as the Bulldogs prevailed 73-68, as part of CUNYAC play at The Tank in Staten Island.  The win lifted Brooklyn to 15-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference while CSI fell to 13-3, 7-1, respectively.

A see-saw first half saw Brooklyn settle into a modest lead at intermission, but the Bulldogs exploded in the third quarter and were seemingly on their way to a blowout win before the Dolphins ripped off a feverish comeback.  

Before that, CSI got off to the game’s first sizable lead at 7-0, helped along by five-straight Jacquelyn Cali points.  BC promptly returned fire with a 10-2 response, aided by back-to-back three’s from Taylor George and Alexandra Moogan.  A Samantha Flecker layup gave CSI a 14-13 lead, but it would be their last, as BC used an 8-0 run, which included another Moogan three to help guide the Bulldogs to a 21-14 lead, and the teams parried from there until BC settled into a 34-27 edge at the half, holding CSI leading scorer Christina Pasaturo to just a single point.

The third quarter then belonged to the visitors, as BC went on a numbing 23-1 run over the first 7:14 of the second half. CSI went 0-11 over the stretch with a whopping eight turnovers, as BC used three more Moogan three’s and then six-straight points from Jasmine Hansgen to take a colossal 57-28 lead with just 2:35 remaining in the third quarter.  From there, however, a resolved CSI did not quit, and the Dolphins used a Victoria Crea transition basket off of a BC turnover to spark an 8-1 run to end the third quarter, helping CSI cut the lead to 58-36 at the end of three.

Still, CSI seemingly needed a miracle to overturn the deficit, and the home squad nearly got it by way of suffocating defense and a quick, up-tempo, transition game.  The result was an immediate 9-0 run to start the fourth, aided by four BC turnovers, two-straight Pasaturo buckets and a Flecker three.  After BC bounced the lead up to 16 on a Karen Mak lay-up, back-to-back three’s from Pasaturo and Flecker and then another by Flecker after a BC basket made it a 64-54 contest with 4:06 to go.  CSI wasn’t done there, as another Pasaturo drive followed by an Angelique Price power move to the rim cut the lead to 66-62 with just 2:26 to play.

BC would respond with a Chanel Jemmott basket, but CSI countered with a Pasaturo three to close to 68-65 with 1:13 to play.  After Hansgen split free-throws, CSI finally got the lead down to just two, 69-67, when Pasaturo finished a drive with 26 seconds left.  With full momentum, CSI forced another turnover, and Brooklyn put Pasaturo on the line with a chance to tie with just 13 seconds to play.  Pasaturo would miss the first but make the second, but forced to foul, Make made a pair for CSI with 11 seconds to play.

Down to perhaps a final chance, CSI fumbled an inbounds pass in the Brooklyn zone and after a mad dash, Flecker put up a well-contested and off-balance three that fell well wide of target.  With the rebound won by BC, they canned two free-throws to ice the game, thwarting the 28-point CSI comeback that took place over the final 12 minutes.

BC was paced by Taylor George’s 17 points before fouling out, while Moogan added 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Hansgen also posted a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.  CSI was topped by Flecker’s 27 points, matching her career high with seven rebounds.  Pasaturo topped out with 19 points (18 in the second half) with eight rebounds and seven assists.  Price finished with 10.  Brooklyn out-rebounded CSI 58-29, but CSI countered by forcing 35 BC turnovers to their 21.

The Dolphins will look to get right on Saturday at 1pm against John Jay College as they begin their second pass through the CUNYAC conference schedule.  The game will be preceded by the Inaugural CSI Women’s Basketball Alumni Game, scheduled for 11am.
 

GAME VIDEO