The No. 4 seeded Berkeley College New York women's basketball team had its run for a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title end on Saturday evening, as the Knights were silenced by the No. 1 seeded Panthers of Albany College of Pharmacy by a score of 51-43 in a low-scoring affair at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany, NY. With the loss, Berkeley will now await word on a possible bid to the 2014-2015 USCAA National Tournament (the announcement comes Tuesday), while the Panthers will take on the No. 2 seeded Bears of St. Joseph's College in the championship game after the Bears defeated the No. 3 seeded Blue Angels of the College of New Rochelle later in the evening. The women's title game is scheduled for 4:00pm tomorrow.

After taking a 3-0 advantage in the opening minute of the game, the Knights found themselves quickly down five points – 14-9 – with 9:23 remaining in the opening session. A three-point basket and converted jump shot by senior Janay Thomas on back-to-back Knights possessions evened the game at 14 apiece. The Panthers would outscore the Knights 9-6 over the final 8:26 of the session to take a 23-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Albany College of Pharmacy would set the tone for the rest of the game during the first four and a half minutes of the second period, as the Panthers scored the first nine points of the half to grab a commanding 32-20 lead with 15:53 remaining. A modest 5-0 run by the Knights – consisting of a Thomas free throw, a made jumper by Patricia Patterson, and a converted shot by first-year sensation Champagne Hazel brought the Knights to within seven points at 32-25, and Berkeley would eventually slice a 12 point-deficit to three (36-33) with just over six minutes to play.

Over the ensuing 3:40 of action, the Knights were unable to convert on a field goal while the Panthers used a 7-0 run to take a 43-33 lead. Albany College of Pharmacy never let Berkeley get any closer than six points down from that point, and the Panthers eventually held on for an eight point victory.

Despite the loss for the Knights, Berkeley was led by Champagne Hazel, as she scored a team-high 18 points while converting on all six of her free throw attempts. She also grabbed seven rebounds and tallied a team-high four steals. Senior Janay Thomas added 16 points, eight caroms, and three steals, and Patricia Patterson netted six points and added a team-high nine boards.

The Panthers were paced by Alexa Schooley's 22 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals, while Megan Serley added 13 and Taylor Sullivan contributed with seven points, a team-high 14 rebounds and a game-best six steals. Sullivan - a Troy, NY product, surpassed the 1,000 point plateau for her playing career late in the final moments of the contest.

Neither team shot well from the floor, with the Panthers connecting on 28.1 percent of their attempts (18-64) compared to 20.5 percent for the Knights (15-73). Albany held a slight 60-54 edge in the rebounding department, while also tallying eight assists to Berkeley's three. The teams were nearly even in the turnover category, with Albany accounting for one more miscue (20) than the Knights (19).

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