The Berkeley College New York women's basketball team dropped their second consecutive game, falling to the Bulldogs of Briarcliffe College by a score of 73-62 on the campus of the Apprentice School Saturday afternoon in Newport News, Virginia. With the loss, the Knights dropped to 11-4 on the 2014-2015 campaign, while the Bulldogs improved their mark on the year to 5-6.
Berkeley College held a 5-4 lead in the early stages of the game, but a three-point basket and a pair of free throws by Briarcliffe's Judy Pierre, and a pair of converted freebees by Vikki Castillo gave the Bulldogs an 11-5 advantage. The game remained tightly-contested over the ensuing 4:09, with Briarcliffe holding a 15-13 edge with 11:18 remaining in the opening stanza. The Bulldogs would then put together an 8-0 run to grab a 23-13 lead, and eventually held an 18-point advantage – 40-22 – as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.
The Knights came out hitting on all cylinders in the second half – putting forth an 18-4 run (Janay Thomas netted eight points during the spurt, and Champagne Hazel accounted for five) to pull to within four points at 44-40. Despite making a strong push, Berkeley College was never able to inch any closer than four points down, as later in the half the Bulldogs would build their lead up to 18 points before winning by 11.
In a losing effort for the Knights, it was Janay Thomas leading the way for Berkeley College, as she scored 19 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and steals. In addition, Champagne Hazel netted 18 points while dishing five assists and tallying four steals, and Rodnesha Diamond finalized her afternoon with 10 points.
In the victory for Briarcliffe, Judy Pierre scored a game-high 24 points while snatching 13 rebounds. Also, it was Shemique Hooks netting 23 points, grabbing 16 rebounds, dishing three assists and tallying three steals, and Kiara Johnson added 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Neither team shot well from the floor, with the Bulldogs connecting on just 36 percent of their attempts from the floor (18-50) and the Knights hitting on 27.5 percent of theirs (22-80). Briarcliffe held a 54-47 edge on the glass, and tallied more assists by a slim margin (15-13). The Knights won the turnover battle, committing 15 miscues while forcing 28 Bulldog mistakes.
Berkeley College will finish their three-game weekend tomorrow, as the Knights will look to halt their first losing streak of the season when they battle the Apprentice School. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 4:00pm.
