Box Score Brooklyn, NY --- The #3 seeded Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team rallied in the second half to hold off the #6 seeded Soaring Eagles of Elmira College, 50-47, in the First Round of the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Women's Basketball Championships on Wednesday evening at the West Quad Center.

With the win, Brooklyn improves to 21-7 overall on the season and advances to the semifinals round this Saturday, March 8th, where the Bulldogs will take on a familiar foe in City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) rival College of Staten Island at 7:00 pm at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center. CSI, the #2 seed, erased a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat #7 College of Mount Saint Vincent, 83-75, in their first round matchup. CSI will host both the semifinals and final rounds as the highest remaining seed able to host.

Staten Island, the CUNYAC regular season champion, swept Brooklyn during the regular season. CSI defeated the Bulldogs 61-48 on December 6th at the West Quad Center and 79-76 (overtime) back on January 25th at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center.

The other semifinal game will feature #1 Kean University and #5 Hunter College. Kean defeated #8 Lehman College, 73-57, in their first round meeting, while Hunter upset #4 Drew University, 78-76, in an overtime thriller, in their first round game. Kean is unable to host the championship weekend, allowing for CSI to host.

The winners of the semifinals round will meet in the championship final on Sunday, March 9th at 7:30 pm at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center.

Elmira, of the Empire 8 Conference, ends its season with a 16-10 overall record.

For the Bulldogs, this was their sixth straight appearance in the ECAC Metro championships and has now advanced to the semifinals round for the fifth straight season.

Leading the way to victory for BC were a pair of CUNYAC All-Stars in senior Megan Campbell (First Team) and junior Nicole Francomano (Second Team). Campbell finished the night with a team-high 18 points, to go with three blocks, coming off the bench, while Francomano added 12 points, seven assists and three steals. Junior Asia Foster grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, to go along with eight points.

"Megan was huge for us, especially in the second half," said Head Coach Alex Lang. "Asia played really well and kept us in the game during the first half."

The Soaring Eagles were led by reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year, Jessica Zoltowski, who led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, to go with nine rebounds and three steals. Maria Thannhauser was also in double-figure scoring with 11 points.

Trailing by five at the half, 23-18, Brooklyn used a 12-2 run to start off the second half and turn the tables to go up by five, 30-25, with 14:13 remaining in the game. Campbell and junior Carissa Williams combined to score eight of the 12 points in fueling the run.

From that point forward, the Bulldogs would hold off the Soaring Eagles the rest of way, keeping the visitors within three to five points for the majority of the remainder of the game. Brooklyn would lead by as many as nine, 46-37, on a steal and fastbreak layup from Francomano with four minutes left on the clock, as the Bulldogs would go on to escape with its three-point win, 50-47, to advance to the semifinals round.

Brooklyn shot 40.0% (22-for-55) from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc, going 0-for-11. The Bulldogs also shot just 6-for-12 (50.0%) from the free throw line.

Elmira was held to just 28.8% (17-for-59) shooting from the field, including 14.3% (2-for-14) from three. The visitors made the most of its free throw opportunities, shooting 84.6% (11-for-13) from the charity stripe.

"Our defense was key tonight," said Lang of his team's performance. "We will need to continue to play great defense if we hope to have a chance to win this Tournament, as all three teams remaining are strong squads who can score in bunches. I have confidence that our team will be prepared to compete this weekend."


First Round – Wednesday, March 5
No. 1 Kean University def. No. 8 Lehman College, 73-57
No. 2 College of Staten Island def. No. 7 College of Mount Saint Vincent, 83-75
No. 3 Brooklyn College def. No. 6 Elmira College, 50-47
No. 5 Hunter College def. No. 4 Drew University, 78-76 (Overtime)

Semifinals – Saturday, March 8 at College of Staten Island
No. 1 Kean University vs. No. 5 Hunter College 5:00 pm
No. 2 College of Staten Island vs. No. 3 Brooklyn College 7:00 pm

Championship – Sunday, March 9 at College of Staten Island
Two Semifinal Winners, 7:30 pm