BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Senior guard Nicole Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) paced the Concordia College New York women's basketball team on both ends of the court on Saturday afternoon against the University of the Sciences, scoring a team-high 15 points with four steals on the defensive end, but a strong start by the visiting Devils propelled them to a 79-54 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) decision.
NOTES
• Concordia falls to 2-11, 1-3 in CACC action.
• USciences improves to 11-3, 4-1 in league play.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Nicholson added five rebounds to her team-leading points and steals total.
• Junior guard Shanice Graves (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in 12 points with two blocks.
• Freshman guard Christina Brown (Ardmore, Pa.) scored 11 points.
• Sophomore guard Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa.) dished out a team-best five assists.
• Freshman forward Jaayden Lafontant (Thiells, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
• For USciences, Irisa Ye scored 26 points with four steals and three assists while Jordan Vitelli added 25 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• USciences scored the initial eight points of the contest before a Graves jumper made it 8-2 with 7:33 remaining in the first quarter. The Devils created a double-digit separation at 14-2, but a 5-2 retort by Concordia cut the deficit down to 16-7 with 2:29 left to play. The visitors scored the final four points of the frame to create a 20-7 score.
• Concordia scored the opening basket of the second quarter, sparking an 11-7 rally to trim the separation down to single digits at 27-18 with 4:48 left in the half. USciences ended the half on a 15-7 run to hold a 42-25 halftime advantage.
• Concordia used a 15-10 start to the third quarter to make it 52-40 with 4:12 remaining in the frame. The Devils countered with nine-straight points, with a freshman guard Marigona Bacaliu (Worcester, Mass.) layup in the final minute creating a 61-44 score going into the final stanza.
• After each side scored two points to start the final frame, USciences used a 14-4 stretch to boast a 77-50 advantage with 4:26 left to play. The Clippers ended the run with back-to-back baskets, with the Devils scoring the final basket of the contest off a layup.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Clippers converted on 20-60 shots, going 4-19 from three-point territory and 10-16 from the free throw line.
• USciences finished 29-60 from the field, 13-29 from distance and 8-11 from the free throw line.
• Concordia recorded 11 assists while USciences had 19.
• USciences held a 41-33 advantage in rebounds.
• Concordia committed 14 turnovers, resulting in 12 points for USciences. The visitors had 15 turnovers, leading to 12 points.
• Concordia recorded 10 steals with four blocks while the Devils had six steals with six blocks.
• Concordia got five points from its bench while USciences got 17.
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 8 in a 5:30 p.m. CACC tilt at Caldwell University.
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