Staten Island, NY | In the third and final act of the season against Baruch College the Dolphins were able to take care of business, 76-59, at The Tank in the CUNYAC Quarterfinal. The Dolphins bounced back nicely after falling to Baruch just three days ago, 74-72. Staten Island evens their playoff record to 5-5 against Baruch and 2-2 in the CUNYAC Quarterfinal. Up next for the Dolphins is a date with bitter CUNYAC rival, #2 seeded Brooklyn College on Tuesday.

Megan McEwan had the best outing of her career this afternoon, scoring 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor.  Adding to her 27 points she also picked up a team-high three steals and dished out three dimes. Diana Todaro picked up her seventh double-double of the season this afternoon after scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

Kayla Schmitter was hyperactive on the boards, grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds 10 of which were on the defensive end, limiting Baruch’s second chance opportunities. Nicole Imbesi was able to crack Baruch’s defense to deal a team-high four assists while hitting just her third triple of the season.

In the first meeting between the Bearcats and the Dolphins this season, the Dolphins cruised to a 30-point victory. However, in the second meeting, the Bearcats were ready and knocked down the Dolphins 74-72. In the rubber match, the Dolphins looked more like themselves and took the lead early and never looked back.

Back-to-back baskets by McEwan followed by helpers from Schmitter and Todaro quickly put the Dolphins up by 9 which forced Baruch to quickly use a timeout in response. 

“Last game was a real eye-opener for us so we went back to the drawing board and really focused in. We were able to find the gaps and used the low post game to our advantage. In our last two meetings against Baruch, I was a bit hesitant attacking the rim but with today’s game being playoffs I knew I had to step up for my team.” McEwan said about the changes they made from their last meeting against Baruch.

Baruch would settle down after the timeout but the Dolphins still had full control of the game. After the opening stanza, the Dolphins had a six-point lead. The Bearcats nearly tied the game up halfway through the second quarter. Frances Snyder cashed in from behind the arc to cut the lead down to just three. Staten Island would go cold for a brief stint which allowed Baruch to stay in the game.

Up by just a pair, back-to-back triples by Jacquelyn Cali and Cristina Camerlengo quickly bumped the Dolphins out to a 9-point lead. Tori Moylan kept the momentum on the Dolphins’ side headed into the locker room as she was able to lay one off of the glass on a pass from Brianna Robisky.

The Dolphins stayed strong coming out of the break and kept the pressure on the Bearcats. CSI started the third quarter off with a 6-2 run which put the Bearcats behind 14, a hole they were unable to find their way out of. McEwan stayed red hot despite the intermission to help punch their ticket to their seventh straight CUNYAC Semifinal. 

For the rest of the contest, the Bearcats were unable to cut the lead down below eight. Staten Island’s defense hunkered down at the end to make sure the Bearcats were unable to surge back into the game. 

Staten Island scored 20 second-chance points as well as 23 points off of fast breaks. The Dolphins doubled the Bearcats’ inside production, scoring 44 points inside the paint. 

The Dolphins will now prepare for Brooklyn College on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, NY. Both teams have raised the CUNYAC trophy in the last two years but will have to fight it out in the semis in order for a chance to lift it once more.
 

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