The Berkeley College women's basketball team dropped their second consecutive game on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Lynx of NHTI by a score of 62-54 on the second day of the NHTI Holiday Inn New Year's Classic. The game was played in Concord, New Hampshire. With the loss, the Knights dipped to 2-6 on the 2017-2018 season, while the Lynx improved their record to 9-4.
Despite the loss for Berkeley College, it was standout Ayana Ratliff pacing her team for the second consecutive day, as she put forth an outstanding effort by tying for the game-high with 28 points. She connected on four of her nine attempts from beyond-the-arc, while also snatching seven rebounds, recording a game-high six steals, and blocking a shot. Crystal Miller added eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists, and veteran Ebony Lofton contributed seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
In the victory for NHTI, it was Michaela Biron leading the way for the Lynx, as she converted on 12 of her 22 shot attempts while tying for the game-high in points with 28. She also added nine rebounds, as well. Riselly Deoleo posted a double-double with 17 points, and game-highs of 15 rebounds and seven assists. Finally, it was Lauren Bisson finalizing her afternoon with six points and nine rebounds.
Things looked promising for the Knights early, as Berkeley held an 18-10 advantage after one quarter of play, and eventually led by 10 points - 20-10 - with 8:30 remaining in the half. Over the ensuing 3:51, however, the Lynx would put together a 13-0 run to catapult ahead by the score of 23-20. That spurt included six points from Biron, as she converted on three shots during that aforementioned span. The Knights' Ratliff would halt NHTI's run with a three-point basket to tie the game at 23 points apiece. The Lynx would outscore the Knights 10-6 over the remainder of the session to take a 33-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
NHTI outscored Berkeley College 17-11 during the third quarter, and eventually lead by 14 - 58-44 - with 4:01 remaining in the game. The Knights, however, would not quit. Berkeley College would put together a 9-0 run over a span of 2:08 to pull to within five points with just 1:53 remaining in the game. That 9-0 run featured a converted layup by Ashley Duplan, a made jumper by Jaiyamoira Myers, and a pair of free throws and a drained three-point basket by Ratliff. That would be the end of the Knights' momentum, though, as Berkeley College would not make another field goal, and the Lynx would finish the game on a 6-1 run. NHTI would win the game by eight points.
The Lynx connected on 39.7 percent of their shots from the floor (25-63), while Berkeley College hit on just 25.3 percent of its attempts (21-83). The Lynx held a 56-47 edge in the rebounding department, while also tallying 17 assists to the Knights' eight. Berkeley College would win the turnover battle, committing just 12 miscues compared to 21 for the opposition.
The Knights will return to action on Thursday evening, as Berkeley College will take on Pratt Institute in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. The game will take place at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time is scheduled for 6:00pm.