The Berkeley College women's basketball team picked up a tremendous victory on Sunday afternoon, blowing out the Panthers of Albany College of Pharmacy by a score of 72-43 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. The game took place at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany, NY. With the victory, the Knights have now won two straight and own a record of 4-6 overall, and a mark of 2-0 in league play. The Panthers fell to 3-7 on the 2017-2018 campaign, and 1-1 in HVIAC action. Following Berkeley's victory, Head Coach Alex Kuchar spoke.
"Prior to the season, we knew Albany College of Pharmacy was going to see the team to beat in the conference, being that they won the league championship a season ago," Kuchar said. "To come in here today and play an all-around complete game it very gratifying, and it serves as a boost of confidence for our group as we get ready for the stretch run of this season. We've now won two straight conference contests, and we'll look to keep this positive momentum rolling as we get set to face Vaughn College on Tuesday night."
The win was a small measure of redemption for Berkeley College, as the Knights avenged their heartbreaking 69-64 overtime loss to the Panthers in the semifinal round of last season's Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The victory also catapulted the Knights into sole possession of first place as it pertains to the conference standings, as Berkeley is currently the only 2-0 team among a total of seven league representatives.
Leading the way for Berkeley College in its victory was junior Ayana Ratliff, as she connected on 14 of her 36 attempts from the floor to finalize her afternoon with a game-high 33 points. She also posted game-highs of eight steals and four blocks, and she also snatched eight rebounds. It was a masterful performance by Ratliff, who has now scored at least 23 points in seven consecutive games. Jaiyamoira Myers put together her second consecutive encouraging effort, as she tallied 13 points and added six rebounds, while tying for the game-high four assists, and four steals, and Ebony Lofton snatched a team-high 13 rebounds.
Despite the loss for the Panthers, Albany College of Pharmacy was paced by Emma Webster, as she tied for the team-high with 13 points, while also tying for the game-high with four assists and snatching a pair of rebounds. Daniella Scanlon also tied for the team-high with 13 points while registering two assists. Dannie Griffin snatched a game-high 14 rebounds while dropping in six points.
Berkeley College set the tone for this game early, as the Knights raced out to a 6-0 advantage just 3:46 into the contest. Those six points came courtesy of a free throw apiece by Crystal Miller and Ebony Lofton, a basket by Ratliff, and a layup by Myers. The Panthers closed the gap to 10-8, but Berkeley finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 16-8 lead after 10 minutes of action.
The game remained tightly-contested, with the Knights clinging to a 20-16 edge with 6:14 remaining in the half, but Berkeley College would put together a strong run at that juncture of the contest. Over a span of 3:32, the Knights would go on a 9-0 run to take a 29-16 lead. That spurt included a layup and a free throw by Myers, a basket by Miller, and consecutive hoops by Ratliff. The Knights would continue to build their lead, eventually taking a commanding 34-18 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Berkeley College would not let up in the second half, out-scoring Albany College of Pharmacy 22-16 in the third quarter, before buckling down even further on defense and allowing just nine Panthers points in the final 10 minutes. The Knights would advance for a surprisingly easy 29-point triumph.
The Knights connected on 42.9 percent of their attempts from the floor (30-70), compared to 30.5 percent for Albany College of Pharmacy (18-59). Berkeley committed only six turnovers on the day while forcing 21 Panthers miscues. The Knights took advantage of the opposition's follies, as Berkeley scored 23 points off Albany College of Pharmacy mistakes. Perhaps the most glaring stat of the game was the points the teams scored in the paint, as Berkeley netted 42 points there, while the Panthers dropped-in 14.
Berkeley will return to action on Tuesday evening, as the Knights will look to stay perfect in conference play when they take on the Warriors of Vaughn College. The game will take place at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Start-time for the game is scheduled for 6:00pm.
