Women’s Basketball Edged By Georgian Court, 69-61

Women’s Basketball Edged By Georgian Court, 69-61

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Concordia College New York women's basketball team hosted Georgian Court on Saturday afternoon, managing to turn a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit into a one-possession contest but unable to complete the comeback against the visiting Lions in a 69-61 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) loss.

NOTES
• Concordia drop to 3-14, 1-7 in CACC play.

• Georgian Court improves to 5-11 overall, 5-3 in league action.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Sophomore guard Cameron Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored a team-best 24 points, connecting on a career-high five three pointers on top of three steals.

• Sophomore forward Sabrina Clement (Queens, N.Y.) pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds to go with eight points.

• Sophomore guard Saundra Cleckley (Queens, N.Y.) dished out a team-best five assists with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.

• For Georgian Court, Destiny Thompsons scored 24 points while Safiyyah Lee chipped in 23 points with 12 rebounds and four blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
• Concordia scored the opening basket off a Corbett triple, and held onto the advantage until a 9-0 GCU run created a 13-7 score with 3:56 remaining in the quarter. A Corbett tipple cut the separation in half, with the Clippers making it a one-possession game off a Clement layup to make it 15-12 with 2:16 left in the stanza. The Lions responded with a layup, while a made free throw from junior center Amiya Rankins (Somerset, N.J.) and Corbett layup made it 17-15 at the end of the quarter.

• The two sides exchanged baskets to start the second quarter, with Cleckley scoring for Concordia, before a quick 6-0 spurt for the visitors extending their lead to 25-17 with 6:18 to go in the half. Concordia ended the run with a junior guard Nicole Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) layup, only for an 8-4 stretch creating a double-digit separation at 33-23 with 2:55 remaining in the quarter. The Lions added to the lead with a layup before a freshman guard Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa.) triple sparked a 6-1 stretch to make it 36-29 with 40 seconds left. GCU scored the final basket of the half, creating a 38-29 halftime score.

• After splitting the opening 10 points of the second half to keep the nine-point separation at 43-34, GCU used a quick 7-4 spurt to push ahead 50-38 with 4:49 left in the third quarter. Concordia responded with a Corbett layup and Nicholson triple cut the deficit to seven at 50-43 with 3:10 remaining in the quarter. The visitors used a 5-2 retort to recreate its double-digit lead at 55-45, with Clement and Nicholson connecting on four-straight free throws to make it 55-49 going into the final 10 minutes.

• GCU scored back-to-back baskets to begin the final quarter, with a Cleckley layup and Corbett three pointer making it 59-54 with 5:23 remaining in the contest. The Clippers managed to make it a one-possession game at 61-58 with 2:12 remaining in the contest, only for a 4-0 run for Georgian Court extending the gap to 65-58 with 12 seconds left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
• The Clippers converted on 19-54 shots, going 7-17 from three-point territory and 16-22 from the free throw line.

• GCU finished 26-53 from the field, 3-11 from distance and 14-26 from the free throw line.

• Concordia dished out 12 assists versus 16 for the visitors.

• Concordia committed 19 turnovers, resulting in 19 points for Georgian Court. The Lions committed 26 turnovers, leading to 15 points.

• Georgian Court held a 45-25 advantage in rebounds.

• Concordia got 18 points off the bench, while GCU got zero off its bench.

• Concordia recorded eight steals with one block while Georgian Court stole the ball 10 times with seven block.
 
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team hosts Nyack College on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in CACC play at 5 p.m.

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