Release courtesy of CNR Athletics
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—Senior Jasmine Brandon (Jersey City, NJ) led CNR with 24 points and 15 rebounds, as The College of New Rochelle women's basketball defeated Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Berkeley College (N.Y.), 69-50, at CNR Wellness Center on Thursday.
Berkeley (2-4, 1-2 HVIAC) scored the first basket of the game, but Brandon responded with three points to give New Rochelle (6-7, 2-0 HVIAC) a 3-2 edge. The Blue Angels went ahead 11-4, including a pair of three-pointers by senior JaNasha King (Jersey City, NJ), before the Knights responded to slash the deficit to 11-9. CNR controlled the pace of the rest of the first period,
taking a 20-13 advantage into the intermission.
Rookie Aaliyah Fields (Hollywood, MD) opened the scoring with a three-pointer to start the second period. The Blue Angels never allowed their lead to shrink below nine points, and CNR led by double-digits at halftime, 36-26. Brandon led all players with 13 points and seven rebounds in the half.
Berkeley came out firing in the second half, scoring four points to trail by six, 36-30. With three minutes to play in the third period, the CNR lead had dwindled to four points, 41-37. The Blue Angels pulled away as Brandon scored a quick five points in under 20 seconds, making it a 46-37 game. A pair of successful free throws and another trey by King gave CNR a 53-38 lead at the final intermission.
In the fourth period, CNR maintained control of the game and led by 18 points, 59-41, with five minutes to play. Back-to-back jumpers by Dixon gave the Blue Angels a 65-47 advantage, and CNR sealed its second conference win of the season. Brandon led all players with 11
points and eight rebounds in the second half.
Behind Brandon's game high 24 points and 15 rebounds, King finished with 15 points, while Dixon totaled 14 points along with eight assists and three steals. Sophomore Caitlin Harrison (Bronx, NY) tallied six points and eight rebounds, while Fields also finished with six points.
For the Knights, Letisha Bolden recorded a double-double on 24 points and 15 rebounds. Kiara Johnson scored in double figures with 12 points, and Lorene Brown had 10 rebounds.
CNR returns to action on Wednesday when the Blue Angels host U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Wellness Center.
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Release courtesy of Berkeley Athletics
The Berkeley College women's basketball team suffered its second consecutive defeat on Thursday evening, falling to the Blue Angels of the College of New Rochelle by a score of 69-50 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest played at the Wellness Center. With the loss, the Knights dipped to 2-4 on the year, and 1-2 in conference action, while New Rochelle improved its mark to 6-7 on the year, and an unblemished 2-0 in HVIAC action.
Despite the loss for the Knights, it was Letisha Bolden putting forth another incredible effort for her team, as the standout posted a double-double with team-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Additionally, Kiara Johnson scored 12 points, recorded four assists, and snatched three rebounds, and Jinedia Harkness knocked-down five of her six attempts from the charity stripe while finishing with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists. Following the defeat, Head Coach Jay Lynch gave his thoughts.
"Our season has been a wave thus far, and establishing consistency will be one of the challenges for us through the season – but a challenge that I feel this team is embracing," Lynch said. "The College of New Rochelle did a better job shooting the basketball than us this evening, and we also have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. The women put forth a valiant effort, but it wasn't our night. We'll get back at it on Saturday against Southern Maine Community College."
In the victory for the Blue Angels, New Rochelle was paced by Jasmine Bandon, as she put forth a sensational effort with game-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to go along with a pair of steals and two blocks. Janasha King added 15 points while connecting on five shots from beyond the arc, and Amirror Dixon netted 14 points and tallied a game-high of eight assists.
The Blue Angels connected on 40.3 percent of their attempts from the floor (27-67) while the Knights hit on 27.5 percent of theirs (14-51). The battle on the glass was almost even, with New Rochelle out-rebounding Berkeley 42-41. The Knights committed 22 turnovers compared to 17 for the Blue Angels, and New Rochelle tallied 24 assists on the night compared to nine for Berkeley.
The Knights will look to get back on track when they take on Southern Maine Community College on Saturday at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 4:30pm.
