New Rochelle, NY | In a game in which they led wire-to-wire, the College of Staten Island women’s basketball team left little to doubt tonight, turning back the College of New Rochelle on the road as part of non-conference play, 80-53. The win, CSI’s fourth-straight, improved the Dolphins to 7-2 overall, while the Blue Angels fell to 1-8.
An inside drive by Rosa Perone for CSI started the game off, and then a 10-0 run over three minutes set the tone as CSI raced to a 14-2 edge, highlighted by three’s from Megan McEwan and Jacquelyn Cali. Baskets by Dar’Neisha Brice and Ashley Martin twice cut CSI’s lead to seven in the opening quarter, but a Perone lay-up and a Cristina Camerlengo three helped put CSI back up by double-figures as they closed the first quarter with a 27-16 lead.
After a fast-break lay-in by Nicole Imbesi, McEwan added another CSI three to gain CSI up to 16 points, 32-16, and from there CSI seemed to coast. A 7-0 run for CSI got the lead up to as many as 18, but a persistent Angels side refused to go quietly, and a three from Brice helped win the quarter for CNR, as they trailed by only 10 at the break, 44-34.
Strong third quarter shooting for CSI insured that CNR would keep their distance. McEwan started the quarter with another three, and another from Cali helped CSI build as much as a 17-point lead before a pair of Brianna Robisky free-throws gave CSI a 62-48 edge after three frames.
From there, CSI closed the door defensively. The Dolphins held a seemingly tired Blue Angels team to just 2-17 from the floor in the quarter, including misses on their last 14 shots of the game, as CSI would out-score CNR, 18-5, in the 10 minutes. The Dolphins finished the game on an 11-0 run over the final 4:24, highlighted by another McEwan three and inside drives from Diana Todaro and Kayla Schmitter.
McEwan led the way with a career-high 23 points, as she connected on 7-9 from beyond the arc. Todaro posted 12 points and a whopping 17 rebounds, while Cali finalized with 11 points. Brice was the overwhelming leader for CNR, finishing with 25 points, while Martin finished with seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds. CSI finished a respectable 42.2% from the field (27-64) and shot 48% from downtown (12-25). CNR finished just 26.1% from the floor (18-69). The Dolphins out-rebounded the Angels 56-45.
The Dolphins improved to 6-1 all-time against CNR, having now won the last six meetings.
For CSI, they will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Lancaster Bible College of a 1 pm non-conference matinee with the Chargers.
