NEW YORK, NY-----Capping a perfect 14-0 record against conference opponents, the Brooklyn College women's basketball team would repeat as CUNYAC Champions with a 59-51 win over No. 2 seed John Jay in the conference tournament title game on Friday at CCNY! It is the third conference title and trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in the last four tries for the Bulldogs. John Jay moves to 15-9 with the championship game loss. The Bulldogs will learn their First Round NCAA Division III Tournament fate on Monday, February 28, during the tourney Selection Show – stay tuned for details.
Earning her third CUNYAC Championship game MVP of her college basketball career, Brooklyn senior forward,
Chanel Jemmott, led all scorers with 18 points to go along with a game-high 20 rebounds. Junior guards,
Gianna Gotti and
Ericka James, were both named to the All-Tournament team for their standout performances.
Brooklyn would jump out to a 3-0 lead to start the game. The Bloodhounds would settle in with a made jumper to get on the board. After a drought for both teams, the Bulldogs picked up the pace to close out the opening quarter with a 13-6 advantage.
BC sharpshooter,
Ericka James, opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with a made three to start the second quarter giving Brooklyn their first double-digit lead of the game. A fastbreak lay-up finished by James gave BC a 26-12 lead with 1:51 to go in the half. The Bloodhounds responded with a 4-0 run capped by a fastbreak finish before Brooklyn freshman forward,
Aleah Rafat, drained a three from the top of the key giving the Bulldogs a 29-16 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Bloodhounds 33-18 through the first 20 minutes of play and outscored John Jay 9-0 in second chance points. Brooklyn junior guard,
Destiny Drummond, provided a nice spark off the bench scoring seven points in the first half.
The Bloodhounds didn't go away easily, make a scrappy third quarter stance, cutting the Brooklyn lead to 33-28 with 4:27 left in the period. However, the Bulldogs stopped the bleeding with a 4-0 response and eventually keep a 41-33 lead heading into the championship quarter.
The Bulldogs kicked their lead back up to double-digits on a
Nancy Pham make to start the fourth quarter before the Bloodhounds responded with a pair of unanswered buckets. BC junior knocked down a key three-pointer with 5:50 remaining in regulation to give BC a 48-39 lead. Gotti knocked down another three from the same spot a couple of minutes later to extend BC's lead to 53-49. Brooklyn drained the necessary free-throws down the stretch to secure the title win.
Gotti finished with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals. James chipped in 11 points while just missing a double-double finishing with nine boards.
Bobbi Green led John Jay with a team-high 17 points.
