Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team has won three straight City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) South Division titles and will look to finally reach the top of the CUNYAC and win the 2012 CUNYAC/Con Edison Women's Basketball Championships.

The Bulldogs enter the conference championship as the #1 overall seed after running through their conference slate with a perfect 11-0 record. BC will begin the championships against the #8 seeded Cardinals of York College in the Quarterfinals Round, set to take place on Sunday, February 19th at 1:30 pm at the West Quad Center.

Head Coach Alex Lang, currently in his 10th season at the helm of the BC Women's Basketball program, is looking forward to the competition, saying, "I expect this year's tournament to be highly competitive.  I think that there is some high level talent and coaching across the conference and I expect to see both showcased over the next week."

Coach Lang will look towards senior captains Lauren Plagainos and Justine O'Callahan to carry the Bulldogs deep into the CUNYAC Championships.

Plagainos leads the team in scoring averaging 12.1 points per game, while shooting 41.2% (108-262) from the field and 38.9% (70-180) from beyond the arc. Plagainos leads the conference in three-point field goals made, while ranking 18th nationally in three-point field goals per game and 37th in all of Division III in three-point field goal percentage.

O'Callahan has been a solid presence in the paint this season averaging 10.8 ppg, to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game. She also cemented her name in the BC record books, as O'Callahan became just the fourth women's basketball player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, when she accomplished the feat back on February 1st against conference and borough rival Medgar Evers College.

Pacing the BC offense this season has been the play of freshman Nicole Francomano, who has had a breakout rookie campaign for the Bulldogs. Francomano is averaging a team-leading 5.0 assists per game, good for second in the CUNYAC. Natioanlly, Francomano ranks 30th in assists per game and 14th in assist- turnover ratio. Francomano is also averaging 8.6 ppg and 2.3 steals per game.

Junior Tiffany Thompson has been a clog in the middle for the Bulldogs, leading the team in rebounding at 8.1 rpg, to go along with a team-best 1.5 blocks per game and 7.4 ppg.  Thompson is a big reason for the team's national ranking in points allowed per game, as Brooklyn currently stands at #8 in the nation, allowing a miniscule 48.1 ppg.

Charnelle Saint Laurent has also been huge at the off-guard position, averaging 9.7 ppg and 3.1 apg.  The junior led the team in scoring in four games this season, including a huge conference win over Baruch.

Melissa St. Louis has shown great value as the first reserve off the Brooklyn bench, putting in all-around efforts on the offensive and defensive end, as well as on the glass. 

If Brooklyn advances past York, the Bulldogs will play in the semifinals against the winner between #4 Lehman College / #5 College of Staten Island on Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). If BC gets past the semifinals, they will play in the final on Saturday, February 25th at 3:00 pm also at CCNY.

Along with York, Lehman and Staten Island, #2 seeded and four-time reigning CUNYAC Champion Baruch College, upstart #3 seeded Hunter College, #6 John Jay and #7 CCNY will each be looking to take home the Gary Smith Trophy, awarded to the Touarnement Champion. 

Admission to this Sunday's quarterfinal will be free and on a first come first served basis.  Tickets to the semifinal and final rounds are also free and can be gotten through the CUNYAC website at the following link: http://www.cunyathletics.com/sports/2011/9/29/2011_12_champ_tickets.aspx

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