WEST QUAD CENTER Brooklyn, NY---No. 2 seed Brooklyn kept their postseason run going, cruising to an 81-55 win over No. 3 seed Neumann University in the First Round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships this evening. The Bulldogs advance to the ECAC Quarterfinal on Friday at No. 1 seed Carnegie Mellon. Tip-off is set for 11:00 am. Brooklyn improves to 22-6 with the postseason victory. Neumann ends the season with an 18-9 record.
A back-and-forth game in the first period, the Bulldogs took complete control of the game in the second, outscoring the Knights 20-10 for a 42-26 advantage. Junior guard
Karen Mak paced BC with 15 first half points. She finished with a Player of the Game performance with a game-high 24 points, 5 assists with only one turnover, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals.
Brooklyn really opened it up in the first 2:30 of the second half with a 12-0 run sparked by a made three buried by senior guard
Taylor Gallagher. Mak capped the run with a made three of her own to give Brooklyn a 54-26 advantage. The Knights finally stopped the bleeding on a Nafisa Saunders lay-in with 6:54 left in the third period. However, the Bulldogs would extend their lead to as many as 30 points in the third period. They would end into the final ten minutes play with a 73-43 lead.
The Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the game (32) in the opening thirty seconds of the fourth period. Brooklyn's reserves did a solid job of closing out the game, keeping a comfortable cushion until the final buzzer.
Brooklyn's defense overwhelmed the Knights, forcing 28 Neumann turnovers that led to 34 Bulldog points. The Bulldogs shot 46.1% from the field for the game, keeping the Knights at a 35.4% shooting night. BC was a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe on the evening.
Senior forward
Olivia Colbert was a force in the paint for BC this evening, finishing with 19 points on 7-12 from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line. Senior guard, Twanda Holder, and sophomore wing
Alexandra Moogan each chipped in seven points on the evening.
The Knights were led by senior guard AAliyah Hayes' team-high 19 points.
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