Knights defense, Roper's dominance propel Berkeley College women's basketball team to convincing 71-50 league victory over Pratt Institute

Knights defense, Roper's dominance propel Berkeley College women's basketball team to convincing 71-50 league victory over Pratt Institute

Janera Roper scored 30 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and recorded six steals, as the Berkeley College women's basketball team picked up its second victory in as many days on Thursday evening, defeating the Cannoneers of Pratt Institute by a score of 71-50 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest played at the Pratt ARC in Brooklyn, NY. With the victory, the Knights are now 4-8 on the year, and 2-2 in league play. The Cannoneers dipped to 4-5 overall and 2-1 in conference action.

In addition to Roper's fantastic outing, Baytania Newman put together a very versatile game, as she scored 17 points while connecting on eight of her 18 attempts from the floor. She also grabbed eight rebounds, and posted team-highs of nine steals and seven assists. Akiah Luceus added six points, six rebounds, and three blocks as well.

The Knights trailed only briefly in this game – 3-2 in the opening 1:33 of action. Berkeley College led 42-33 at the half, and eventually held a lead as large as 27 points (69-42) before eventually going on to win the game convincingly by 21.

Berkeley College's defense stifled Pratt Institute all evening long, as not only did the Knights force 30 Cannoneer turnovers, but the Knights also held Pratt to 27.1 percent shooting for the evening (19-70). Berkeley dominated the glass as well, out-rebounding the opposition by a count of 60-49.

Despite the loss for Pratt Institute, it was Anna Bryce leading the way with a versatile performance as he scored 12 points, snatched nine rebounds, and recorded six assists. Amissa Epperson and Idalia Kaplan also scored 12 points apiece in a losing effort.

The Knights will now have two days off before returning to action on Sunday, as Berkeley College will play host to NHTI at the Wellness Center on the campus of the College of New Rochelle. Start-time for the game is scheduled for 1:00pm.