Entering Sunday evening, the Berkeley College New York women's basketball team still had a chance to capture the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, but that hope was dashed by the College of New Rochelle, as the Blue Angels silenced the Knights 57-48 at the Wellness Center in a conference contest. With the loss, Berkeley fell to 13-9 overall and finalized its HVIAC portion of the slate 4-2, while New Rochelle improved to 11-8 on the 2014-2015 campaign, including a mark of 4-1 in league play.
The Knights held early leads of 4-0, 6-3, and 10-8 before the College of New Rochelle began its push. A 15-2 Blue Angel run over a span of 6:55 put New Rochelle ahead by a score of 23-12 with 6:23 remaining in the opening session. The Blue Angels continued to add to their advantage, eventually going up by as many as 15 points (32-17) later in the half. Berkeley did finish the period on a positive note, closing the stanza on a 6-1 run that included a pair of free throws and a layup by Patricia Patterson, and a converted jump shot by Janay Thomas. As the teams entered the locker room at halftime, New Rochelle led 33-23.
As the second half began, the Knights were seemingly inching closer thanks to a freebee and a basket by Thomas. Berkeley was only down seven at that point, 33-26. Blue Angel point guard Alyssa Pechin would then nail consecutive three-point baskets to put New Rochelle back up by double digits, 39-26. Knights Head Coach Sharod Tomlinson would call a 30-second timeout after that.
When play resumed, the Knights spent the ensuing 9:55 of action clawing back into the game. Their comeback attempt began with an 8-0 run - highlighted by five points from six-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week Champagne Hazel. At that point, Berkeley trailed by just five points, 39-34. Later – with the Knights down 44-38, Hazel connected on a long three-point basket – and three offensive possessions later – Katana Travis was fouled by Jah-Leah Ellis attempting a layup. Travis would connect on both free throws, slicing the Blue Angel lead to a point at 44-43.
The Knights would never re-take the lead despite the valiant comeback attempt, as Berkeley converted on just one field goal in the final 6:17 of regulation, and the Blue Angels outscored the Knights 13-5 down the stretch to account for the nine-point victory.
Despite the loss for Berkeley, Janay Thomas scored a team-high 16 points while connecting on three triples. She also grabbed six rebounds and added a pair of assists as well. Champagne Hazel finalized her evening with 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals, and Patricia Patterson netted nine points while grabbing a team-best 10 rebounds and tallying a game-high five steals.
Jah-Leah Ellis had a phenomenal game for the Blue Angels, as she posted game-highs of 19 points and 24 rebounds (including nine on the offensive glass). She also added three assists and two steals. Alyssa Pechin added 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Hannah Cambel netted nine points while connecting on three shots from downtown. She also had four assists.
Neither team was very cohesive offensively, as the Blue Angels connected on just 34.5 percent of their attempts from the floor (20-58) while committing 23 turnovers, and Berkeley nailed just 17 of their 67 shots on the evening (25.4 percent) while committing 16 miscues. New Rochelle out-rebounded the Knights 53-41, while also dishing 12 assists to Berkeley's seven.
The Knights' regular season portion of the schedule is now complete, and Berkeley will now look ahead to the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, which begins this Saturday. Berkeley has already earned a spot in the tourney, but the Knights can now finish no higher than a No. 3 seed, and the team will likely be the No. 4 seed. Keep it posted to www.BerkeleyCollegeKnights.com for all of the latest developments regarding Berkeley College women's basketball.
