The Berkeley College New York women's basketball team picked up a big victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Panthers of Albany College of Pharmacy by a score of 69-56 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest played at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany, NY. With the win, the Knights upped their mark to 5-1 on the season (1-0 HVIAC), while the Panthers dipped to 5-2 (0-1 HVIAC).
The Knights came out hitting on all cylinders, grabbing a quick 6-0 advantage in the early stages of the opening stanza thanks to converted jump shots by Champagne Hazel and Rodnesha Diamond, and a layup by Patricia Patterson. Berkeley College's biggest lead in the first half was 10 points – an advantage they held on three different occasions. An 8-2 Albany Pharmacy run to close the half pulled the Panthers to within two points, as the Knights held a slim 34-32 edge after 20 minutes.
In the second half, the game remained tightly-contested, with the Knights clinging to a one-point lead – 51-50 – with 5:24 remaining in the game. From there, Berkeley College took control and started pulling away from Albany College of Pharmacy, going on a 17-2 run over the ensuing 3:44 to go up by 17 points (69-52) and essentially put the game away. Senior Milan Germany netted seven points during that run, while Hazel nailed a pair of three-point baskets in that spurt as well.
For Berkeley College, it was a nice bounce-back performance following a nine-point loss to Mercy College this past Thursday. In this victory, the Knights were paced by Hazel who scored a team-high 17 points while connecting on seven of her 12 shots from the floor. She also grabbed five rebounds, dished four assists, and tallied four steals. Additionally, Germany finalized her afternoon with 16 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Point guard Janay Thomas scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, had three helpers, and two steals. Patricia Patterson added 11 points and seven caroms.
Despite the loss for the Panthers, Alexa Schooley dropped in a game-high 20 points, while also posting 13 rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Megan Serley contributed 16 points, two assists, and two steals, as well.
The Knights connected on 48.4 percent of their attempts from the floor (30-62) while holding the Panthers to just 28.8 percent shooting (15-52). Berkeley held a 42-36 edge in the rebounding department, while also dishing 14 assists to Albany College of Pharmacy's eight. Both teams committed 24 turnovers in the contest.
Berkeley will look to win their second consecutive Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game on Monday evening, as the Knights will travel to Aviator in Brooklyn, NY to battle King's College. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 6:30pm.
