BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Concordia Clippers women's basketball team hosted Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) North Division foe Bloomfield College on Wednesday evening in the Meyer Athletic Center. Concordia was edged 69-65, but earned their first-ever CACC Championship Tournament berth after Felician University lost to Caldwell this evening.
The Clippers have secured the fourth seed in the North Division as Felician fell to Caldwell, 81-56. Concordia can't move any higher or lower in the standings with two regular season games still remaining on their schedule. This will be the program's first-ever CACC Championship Tournament appearance and, according to historical records, is also their first-ever post season tournament appearance.
Tonight's game began with the Clippers jumping out to an early 5-1 lead over the Bears in the first quarter as a 7-2 run for the visitors gave Bloomfield their first lead at the 6:08 mark, 8-7. Concordia would score 10 of the next 12 points to open up a 17-10 advantage, but the Bears ended the quarter on a 10-2 run of their own to lead 20-19 after 10 minutes of action.
In the second quarter the Clippers would begin with a 7-2 run to take a 26-22 lead with 7:50 to go in the period. Five unanswered points for Bloomfield would allow them to take a one point lead as the Bears would hold a 33-30 advantage at the 2:54 mark. Concordia held Bloomfield scoreless for the remainder of the half and managed to score five points of their own as the Clippers would go into the locker room with a 35-33 lead.
Both sides came out scoring in the early going of the third quarter as both teams would be neck-and-neck on the scoreboard. The Bears would score five unanswered points to lead 45-41 with 2:09 to go in the period. Each team scored three points in the closing minutes of the quarter as Bloomfield still held a four point lead, 48-44, going into the final period.
The Bears began the fourth quarter on a 12-7 run as Concordia trailed 60-51 at the 6:42 mark. A 12-2 run for the Clippers would put them ahead with under a minute to go, 63-62, as the game would come down to the last few possessions. Concordia would foul on three occasions as Bloomfield converted on five of the six free throws to lead 67-63 with 21 seconds to go.
In the next possession senior Jessica Rosalbo (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a jump shot to cut the Clippers' deficit to two points, 67-65, with 11 seconds to go. The Bears were fouled again and only knocked down one of the two free throws. With one last chance Concordia looked for a three-point basket, but were unable to get a shot off as Bloomfield added another free throw to edge the Clippers, 69-65.
Rosalbo led Concordia with 19 points as she also added a game-high five assists. Junior Hadiyah Black (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would record her eighth double-double of the season after recording 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Junior Julianne Wilkinson (Red Hook, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points and tying her career-high of five steals as junior Lyric Blanch (Kingston, N.Y.) added 11 points and four rebounds.
The Clippers (7-18, 7-10 CACC) will play in their final regular season home game on Saturday afternoon against Post University. Tip-off for Senior Day is set for 1 p.m. as fans unable to attend the CACC North Division game can follow the action by clicking on the live stats and video links under the women's basketball schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.