Bethlehem, PA----Led by
Brianna Jackson's team-high 16 points, the Brooklyn College women's basketball team defeated the University of Mary Washington, 75-65, in the opening game of the Steel City Classic hosted by Moravian University on Monday. BC improves to 8-3 with the victory while the Eagles drop to 3-11. Next Up: the Bulldogs will take on the winner of host, Moravian, and Cedar Crest in the tournament championship tomorrow, December 30, at 1:00 pm.
Clinging to a four-point lead, the Bulldogs scored the first two buckets of the fourth quarter, beginning with a Jackson three-point make. Brooklyn would go on to lead by as many as 12 points on two separate occasions in the final ten minutes of play. Already leading by nine, 70-61, BC junior guard,
Anna Kitch put the final nail in the coffin with a three-point make with 1:10 left in regulation.
With the Bulldogs trailing, 21-20, by the end 0of the first quarter, the Eagles carried their momentum into the second quarter beginning with a 6-0 run to take a 28-21 advantage with 8:18 left in the first half. However, Brooklyn responded with a 6-0 run of their own to pull within a point of the Eagles by the seven-minute mark. The teams battled back-and-forth for the rest of the quarter, before Brooklyn's
Ameea Daniel gave the Bulldogs a 41-40 lead following a steal and fastbreak layup in the final seconds of the first half.
Brooklyn took the lead for good with 7:58 to go in the third quarter following a three-point play finished by
Dior Dorsey to give the Bulldogs a 44-43 edge.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the contest beginning with back-to-back three-point makes buried by Kitch. BC freshman guard,
Aaliyah McCalla paced the Bulldogs with eight first quarter points.
BC shot 50.0% from the field as a team for the game in 56.3% from behind the arc. Brooklyn outscored Mary Washington, 11-3, in fast break points.
Mary Washington's Jenna Steadman led all scorers with 17 points.
Jackson shot 3-5 from three-point range for the game while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out 7 assists in the winning effort. Dorsey had 13 points and came up with 4 steals off of the bench. Kitch closed out the contest with 11 points and 6 rebounds. McCalla also reached double-figure scoring with 10 points on the afternoon.
