Women’s Basketball Edged By No. 8 USciences, 82-46

Women’s Basketball Edged By No. 8 USciences, 82-46

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Concordia College New York women's basketball team traveled to the University of the Sciences on Saturday afternoon, with the Clippers recovering from a slow start by outscoring the host in the second quarter of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest but unable to hang with eighth-ranked USciences in the second half to fall 82-46.

NOTES
• Concordia falls to 5-17, 3-10 in CACC play.

• USciences improves to 22-1, 13-1 in league action.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Junior center Amiya Rankins (Somerset, N.J.) scored a team-leading 10 points with six rebounds and a block.

• Sophomore guard Saundra Cleckley (Queens, N.Y.) matched her career-high with nine rebounds, a mark she initially set nearly a year ago to the day at Goldey-Beacom College on Feb. 10, 2018 on top of a team-leading three assists.

• Junior guard Nicole Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded five steals with nine points.

• For USciences, Kendall Keyes and Alex Thomas both scored 15 points while Taylor Hamm recorded nine rebounds and Irisa Ye dished out five assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
• USciences scored the opening 13 points of the contest before a sophomore forward Jordyn Hornbuckle (Hopkinsville, Ky.) layup and freshman guard Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa.) triple made it 13-5 with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter. The host extended the separation off an 11-1 stretch, with a pair of Nicholson free throws ending the run followed by a Hornbuckle jump shot to cut the separation to 24-10 with 26 seconds left. USciences added a triple to its lead with six ticks remaining in the stanza to hold a 27-10 lead going into the second frame.

• Concordia used a 10-2 rally to start the second quarter with Nicholson, sophomore guard Cameron Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Cleckley all contributing to bring the separation down to single digits at 29-20 with 5:36 remaining in the half. USciences ended the run with a three pointer, but a Nicholson triple and three-point play for Corbett made it 32-26 with 3:26 left in the half. The Devils scored the final five points of the half to create a 41-26 score at the intermission.

• USciences carried its first-half ending run into the second with the opening eight points of the third quarter, and 12 of the initial 14, to take a 53-28 advantage with 3:49 to go in the frame. Rankins connected on a three-point play to end the run on top of another free throw with Hopkins making a late layup but USciences matched the Clippers' six points to maintain the separation at 59-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

• USciences used a 7-2 run to start the final frame to hold a 66-36 advantage with 7:20 to play. The Clippers responded with an equal retort led by Rankins who scored all seven of Concordia's points during the stretch, with Corbett adding a pair of free throws after a three pointer from the host making it 70-44 before a 10-0 run by USciences created an 80-44 score with 59 seconds left. Hopkins scored the final basket for Concordia, while a pair of free throws from the Devils created the final score.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
• The Clippers converted on 15-58 shots, going 3-15 from three-point territory and 13-15 from the free throw line.

• USciences finished 30-59 from the field, 14-31 from distance and 8-14 from the free throw line.

• The Clippers dished out seven assists versus 21 for the host.

• Concordia committed 14 turnovers, resulting in 13 points for USciences. The Devils committed 15 turnovers, leading to 13 points.

• USciences held a 45-33 advantage in rebounds.

• Concordia got seven points from its bench while USciences got 39.

• Concordia recorded 12 steals with two blocks while USciences stole the ball five times with four blocks.
 
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team returns to the Meyer Athletic Center on Wednesday, Feb. 13 to host Dominican College (N.Y.) in a 5 p.m. matchup.

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