The Berkeley College women's basketball team recently dropped a pair of non-conference games, falling to Camden County College this past Thursday by a score of 54-40, before dropping a tough 50-48 contest to Central Penn this past Sunday. With those two defeats, Berkeley is now 0-6 on the 2022-2023 campaign.
Natalia Terrones paced Berkeley in its loss to the Cougars, as she scored 10 points. Beulah Dixon Blake netted eight, Zanya Henderson contributed seven points, and Jasmyn Maisonet and Amal Mahmoud finalized their evenings with six points apiece.
For Camden County College, the Cougars were led by Leilani Franklin, as she led all scorers with 17 points. She also added three assists, as well. Tataiana Johnson put together a fine all-around performance, scoring 14 points while snatching six rebounds, swiping five steals, and adding two assists.
In Sunday's game, Berkeley was led by the versatile effort of Amal Mahmoud, as she scored a team-high 10 points, while posting game-highs of 15 rebounds and four blocks. She also collected a team-high seven steals. Henderson, Blake, and Kanijah Jacobs all scored seven points apiece.
Central Penn was led by Tahniyaah Jackon's game-highs of 15 points and eight steals. She also collected a team-best 10 rebounds.
Berkeley trailed Central Penn by scores of 6-0 and 11-6 in the opening quarter, but rallied back to snatch a 19-16 advantage after 10 minutes of play. In a low scoring second quarter that saw both teams shoot below 30 percent from the floor, Central Penn outscored Berkeley 11-8, and the teams headed into the locker room knotted at 27 apiece.
The opening 2:24 of the third quarter saw Central Penn grab a 34-29 advantage, but Berkeley outscored the hosts 9-4 for the remainder of the period, and the non-conference clash was tied at 38 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Berkeley seemed to be in control, as following a pair of converted freebees by Henderson, the visitors led 46-40 with 5:37 remaining. Central Penn refused to go quietly, though, chipping away and eventually tying the game at 48 apiece when Tahniyaah Jackson converted on a layup with 1:48 remaining.
Later, with 31 seconds to go and the game still tied, Jackson would strike again, draining a jumper to put Central Penn up for good, 50-48. Berkeley did have one final chance to tie the game or win it, but Henderson's layup was no good, giving Central Penn the dramatic victory.
Neither squad shot well from the floor, with Berkeley converting on 32.8 percent of its shots (19-58), and Central Penn nailing just 16 of its 58 attempts (27.6 percent). Central Penn was the more efficient team from the line, hitting 17 of its 27 attempts there (63 percent), while Berkeley sank just 50 percent of its freebees (8 for 16). Central Penn held a sizable 40-30 edge on the glass, while also winning the turnover battle, committing 24 miscues while forcing 26 visitor mistakes. Berkeley did have more assists, dishing seven to Central Penn's six.
Berkeley College will now travel to Maine for a pair of games this weekend, as the Knights will face the University of Maine at Augusta at Central Maine Community College on Friday at 7:00pm. The following day, Berkeley will take on the Mustangs at 1:00pm.
