BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Highlighted by sophomore guard Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa.) recording a Concordia College New York women's basketball program-first on Saturday afternoon and freshman guard Marigona Bacaliu (Worcester, Mass.) propelling the team into the top-three of the program record for three pointers made in a game, the Clippers won its first contest of the 2019-20 season in a 72-70 triumph over visiting University of Bridgeport.
NOTES
• Concordia improves to 1-5.
• Bridgeport falls to 0-5.
• The Clippers' .435 shooting percentage from three-point territory ranks third in the program record book, with the 10 total triples tying for third.
• Concordia's 20 assists in the victory ties for the sixth-most in program history.
• Hopkins became the first member of the women's basketball program to record a double-double behind double-digit assists. Her 10 assists ties for second in the program record book, while marking the fourth time in program history that a Clipper has eclipse double-digit assists in a contest and the first since the 2008-09 campaign.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Senior guard Nicole Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) paced the offense behind a season-best 23 points on 9-16 shooting with four assists and four steals.
• Hopkins chipped in 13 points with a team-high 10 assists and seven rebounds.
• Freshman guard Christina Brown (Ardmore, Pa.) pulled down seven rebounds with as many points.
• Bacaliu scored a personal-best 15 points, with all five her made field goals coming from three-point territory.
• For Bridgeport, Gracen Kerr scored 18 points with nine assists and three rebounds while Kyle Felton logged 12 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• A pair of triples from Nicholson followed by a junior guard Shanice Graves (Brooklyn, N.Y.) jump shot gave the Clippers an early 8-3 lead with 7:15 remaining in the quarter. Bridgeport scored seven-straight points to take a 10-8 lead before a three pointer from Nicholson put Concordia back on top, 11-10, with 5:23 remaining in the frame. Nicholson's triple sparked a 13-4 stretch that gave the Clippers a seven-point advantage at 21-14, but a 9-2 response by the visitors flipped the advantage in their favor at 23-21 with 26 second left. Bacaliu connected on a triple at the buzzer to give Concordia a 24-23 lead going into the second quarter.
• Bridgeport scored the opening basket of the second quarter before a pair of Hopkins layups sandwiching a redshirt-junior forward Brenna Cloud (Delran, N.J.) basket made it 30-25 with 8:31 remaining in the half. The visitors used a 10-2 run to take a 35-32 lead midway through the quarter, with the Clippers knotting the score at 37-all and again at 39-39 before a free throw and three pointer from the visiting side created a 43-39 halftime score.
• Concordia quickly knotted the score behind back-to-back layups from Graves and Brown, only for a 6-0 response by the visitors creating a 49-43 separation with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter. Concordia ended the run off a pair of Hopkins free throws, with neither side scoring consecutive baskets before a 5-0 stretch off a Nicholson basket and Bacaliu triple made it 57-56 with 1:12 left in the quarter. Another Bacaliu three pointer in response to a pair of UB free throws evened the score at 59-all, with the Purple Knights adding a free throw in the final seconds of the quarter to make it 60-59.
• After a scoreless minute to begin the final quarter, Bridgeport went on a 6-0 to pull ahead 66-59 with 7:29 remaining in the contest. Nicholson ended the run with a layup, sparking a 7-2 stretch that made it a one-possession affair at 68-66 with 5:40 left to play. Bridgeport tried extending the gap with a basket, but back-to-back triples from Bacaliu and Hopkins flipped the lead in favor of Concordia at 72-70.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Clippers converted on 27-62 shots, going 10-23 from three-point territory and 8-13 from the free throw line.
• Bridgeport finished 29-75 from the field, 5-18 from distance and 7-11 from the free throw line.
• Concordia recorded 21 assists while UB had 20.
• Bridgeport held a 53-33 advantage in rebounds.
• Concordia committed 17 turnovers, resulting in 16 points for Bridgeport. The Purple Knights had 20 turnovers, leading to 13 points.
• Concordia recorded seven steals with three blocks while the visitors had seven steals with three blocks.
• Concordia's bench scored 15 points while the Purple Knights got 24 from its bench.
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team travels to Molloy College on Tuesday, Nov. 26 for a 5 p.m. non-conference contest.
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