The College of Staten Island women’s basketball team fought valiantly and stayed close with top-seeded Baruch College, but eventually fell in an 82-62 final as part of the 45th annual CUNYAC/Con Edison Postseason Tournament Semifinals. The loss dropped the Dolphins to a 13-12 mark, while Baruch advanced to their fifth-straight title game, improving their record to 22-5.
The game stayed close for the entire first half and even through the first 10+ minutes of the second stanza before Baruch began to pull away. CSI got out an opening lead thanks to five straight points by sophomore Denise Zajonc, and later a pair of three-balls by senior Danielle McLaughlin gave CSI a 15-9 lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half.
CSI obtained their largest lead of the game at the 6:42 mark, when a Kristen Panariello running lay-up gave the four-seeds a 23-15 advantage.
From there, however, Baruch began to chip away. A Megan Bouwens jumper started what was a 13-0 Bearcats run that gave Baruch its biggest lead, 28-23, with just over four minutes remaining. CSI was able to crawl back as a layup by Mallory Ameneiros and another three-ball by McLaughlin tied the game. A pair of Monique Salmon freebies gave Baruch a modest 30-28 lead heading into the lockers.
Despite what the scoreboard said however, CSI was in a bit of a bind due to foul trouble. Only dressing six healthy players, CSI’s Katelyn Hepworth, Nicole Quattrocchi and Panariello promptly picked up their third fouls early in the second frame, and Baruch got on the offensive and insisted on playing an up-tempo, aggressive game.
The result was a 7-2 Baruch run to start the second half, and later, when CSI cut into the lead at 41-36, Baruch charged out to another 10-0 run to make it 51-38 with just over 11 minutes to play. Hit with some dubious foul calls, the Dolphins failed to help themselves, racking up a host of turnovers as well and failing to take advantage of a couple of Baruch miscues.
Still, CSI refused to go quietly, and the Dolphins put up a sensational 11-4 run spearheaded by a pair of threes from McLaughlin and Panariello and a lay-in by Hepworth. The Bearcats promptly asked for timeout, seizing the Dolphins momentum.
That’s when the Bearcats dialed up their best effort. The ‘Cats went on a 13-4 run and with just under five minutes to play, Hepworth fouled out on a loose ball foul, forcing the Dolphins to go the stretch with their final five players. The officials then struck the Dolphins with just over two minutes to play, fouling out Quattrocchi. CSI finished the game with just four players, losing the game, but never losing heart, even with Baruch racing down the court at every turn with the Dolphins under-manned, looking to get many of their bench players into the scoring column.
Baruch shot a blistering 57.6% from the field in the second frame, adding them to a 43.1% clip for the game. CSI shot just 35.1% for the game, and were out-rebounded by the Bearcats, 57-35. For the Bearcats, the team was led by Kalea Davis’ 18 points and 17 rebounds, while both Monique Salmon and Christina Kelly notched 14 apiece. CSI was paced by McLaughlin’s 16 points, while Panariello and Zajonc each tallied 12 points.
Despite the lop-sided final, Head Coach Marguerite Moran was happy with the effort.
“We played very hard,” she said. “We would have loved an opportunity to play the game as a healthier team because we felt we could have been very competitive, but I think we showed a tremendous amount of heart against a very good team tonight. I think it speaks a lot to the character of our players to give them a very good game and to never quit even when we were short-handed.”
Moran was dismayed that the team’s foul woes contributed to the defeat, and opened up what could have been a much tighter contest.
“It’s unfortunate because we couldn’t be as aggressive as we would have liked to be against a team like Baruch because we got hit with foul trouble so early. You have to give (Baruch) a lot of credit, but even then, I thought we kept it interesting.”
For CSI, the season is over at 13-12, but still carries hope for what may be a possible ECAC Postseason berth. The defending ECAC champs, CSI will learn of the ECAC draw on Monday, March 1.