Box Score Brooklyn, NY --- The #1 seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs got past the #8 seeded Purchase College Panthers, 70-50, on Wednesday night at the West Quad Center in the quarterfinals round of the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Women's Basketball Championships.
With the win, BC improves to 23-6 overall on the season and advances to the semifinals round of the ECAC Metro Championships for the fourth straight season. This is Brooklyn's fifth straight ECAC appearance. The 23 wins on the year is also a program record. The Bulldogs also continue their solid play on the their home court, where they boast a 15-2 record at the West Quad Center.
The Bulldogs will play host to the Knights of Mount Saint Mary College in the semifinals round this Saturday, March 2nd at the West Quad Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
#4 Mount Saint Mary defeated #5 Ramapo College in their quarterfinal matchup tonight, 64-56, to advance to the semifinals.
Purchase concludes its season at 17-11 overall on the year.
Brooklyn never trailed in the game as Purchase was only able to tie the game on three separate occasions.
After a jumper from the Panthers' Talia Beaulieu tied the game at 12 all at the 9:01 mark of the first half, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to go ahead for good, 21-14, with 6:40 left before the halftime break. Back-to-back threes from senior
Brittany Bowen began the run, while a three from junior
Vanessa D'Ambrosi capped off the spurt.
Brooklyn would go on to lead by as many as 14, 32-18, on a three-point play from senior
Tiffany Thompson with 2:24 on the clock, before taking a 32-21 cushion in the intermission break.
BC continued to push the tempo in the second half, as the Bulldogs netted the first nine points of the half to go up 41-21, with 17:22 left in the game. D'Ambrosi, Bowen and Thompson all contributed to the run.
The Panthers would be unable to recover from their deficit, as Brooklyn would go on to cruise to its 70-50 victory, to clinch a spot in the semifinals round.
D'Ambrosi led the way for BC with 17 points and nine rebounds, to go along with four steals. Senior
Charnelle Saint Laurent added 16 points and five assists, while Bowen finished the night with 14 points and seven rebounds. Thompson chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore
Nicole Francomano and senior
Trina Payne helped distribute the offense, dishing out five assists each.
For Purchase, Beaulieu led all scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jess Linday added 10 points and seven rebounds. Lineker St. Hilaire finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Alexis Billups contributed with five points, six assists and eight rebounds. Elizabeth Osowiecki also grabbed seven rebounds to help the Panthers out-rebound the Bulldogs 41-36.
For the game, BC shot 44.4% (28-63) from the field, including going 9-for-21 (42.9%) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also shot 71.4% (5-7) from the line.
Purchase shot 32.2% (19-59) from the field and 25.0% (2-8) from three. The Panthers made the most of their free throw attempts converting 83.3% (10-12) from the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs feisty defense, which currently ranks third in the nation in steals, fourth in scoring defense and fifth in field-goal percentage defense, forced Purchase into 21 turnovers for the game, while racking up 14 steals in the process.
As the #1 seed, Brooklyn College will serve as host of the ECAC Metro semifinal round, as well as the championship game.
2013 ECAC DIVISION III METRO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 27
No. 1 Brooklyn def. No. 8 SUNY Purchase, 70-50
No. 2 Hartwick def. No. 7 College of Staten Island, 71-56
No. 3 University of Rutgers-Newark def. No. 6 Stevens IT, 71-48
No. 4 Mount Saint Mary def. No. 5 Ramapo, 64-56
Semifinals – Saturday, Mar. 2 at Brooklyn College
No. 1 Brooklyn vs. No. 4 Mount Saint Mary's, 6:00 p.m.
No. 2 Hartwick vs. No. 3 Rutgers-Newark, 8:00 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, Mar. 3 at Brooklyn College
Two Semifinal Winners, 3:00 p.m.
