The Berkeley College women's basketball team dropped a pair of games over the weekend, falling to Clinton College by a score of 77-42 Saturday evening at the JW Martin Gymnasium, before losing Sunday to Johnson & Wales (NC) at the JW Wildcat Gymnasium, 67-40. With the losses, Berkeley dipped to 1-18 on the 2022-2023 campaign. The Clinton College Golden Bears improved to 8-2 with the victory, while the Wildcats moved to 11-6 with the triumph.
In the Knights' loss to the Golden Bears, Berkeley was paced by senior standout Amal Mahmoud, as she connected on 10 of her 19 shots from the floor to finish with a team-high 21 points. She also snatched a game-high 18 rebounds, as well. Zanya Henderson contributed nine points and six rebounds, including five offensive boards, and Mia Lashley added seven points.
Pacing Clinton College was Jasmine Jenkins, as she dominated, hitting 12 of her 18 attempts from the floor, and eight of her 11 freebees, to finish with a game-high 33 rebounds. Her 11 caroms were also a team-best. Rayanna Davis (9-16 FG) scored 19 points while tying for the game-high of seven steals and adding a pair of assists, and Logan Taylor-McDaniel scored eight points, snatched seven boards, and tied for the game-high of seven steals.
The game stayed competitive only for brief time, before the Golden Bears put some considerable distance between themselves and the Knights. Clinton College led 9-8 with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter, before closing the period on a 17-2 run to take a commanding 26-10 edge after 10 minutes of play.
Just 28 seconds into the second period, Mahmoud completed a traditional three-point play to slice Berkeley's deficit to 13 points at 26-13. The Knights were also down 13, 30-17, with 5:21 left in the half, before the Golden Bears closed out the period with a 9-3 run to take a 39-20 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Clinton College dominated the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 22-7 to take a 61-27 lead after 30 minutes of action. In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Berkeley trailed by as many as 32 points, before slicing the Golden Bears' edge to 25, 67-42, with 3:29 left. The hosts then scored the final 10 points of the contest to account for the 77-42 final score.
The Knights lost the game despite shooting a higher percentage from the floor, as Berkeley College connected on 40 percent of its shots (18-45) compared to a 37 percent conversion rate for the Golden Bears (30-81). Clinton College was very efficient from the foul line, nailing 14 of 17 shots there (82.4 percent), while the Knights misfired on six of 12 (50 percent). Berkeley dominated the glass, out-rebounding the hosts 46-25, but Clinton College held a ridiculous 25-1 edge in steals. The Knights also committed 34 turnovers, while the Golden Bears took care of the ball well, only turning it over seven times.
Beulah Dixon Blake led the way for the Knights in their loss to the Wildcats, posting team-highs of 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. She also added two steals, as well. Mahmoud, Lashley, and Henderson all scored seven points apiece, with Mahmoud snatching six boards, and Lashley pulling down three.
Jordan Durant netted a game-high 17 points for Johnson & Wales (NC). She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished two assists. Tanaeschia Dorsey and Victoria Boddie netted 10 points apiece, with Dorsey grabbing seven rebounds and tallying three assists, and Boddie tying for the game-high of four assists, and adding three steals. Finally, it was Makiya McDaniel scoring six points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
Johnson and Wales (NC) led by as many as 11 in the opening quarter, before closing the period with a 10-point edge, 21-11. Durant scored seven points during a solid Wildcats first quarter. In the second period, Johnson & Wales (NC) saw its defense took control, holding the Knights to just 1-12 from the field, and forcing Berkeley into 10 turnovers. The hosts led 34-14 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Wildcats extend their lead to 27, and they stood pat in the final ten minutes, never leading by less than 25 points.
Neither team shot well from the floor, with Johnson & Wales (NC) earning a 32.4 percent conversion rate (22-68), and the Knights nailing just 26.9 percent of their shots (14-52). The Wildcats were tremendous at the stripe (19-24, 79.2 percent), while Berkeley hit on just 47.6 percent of its shots at the line (10-21). The Knights held a slim 46-45 edge on the glass, but Johnson & Wales (NC) won the turnover battle, committing 17 miscues compared to 31 for Berkeley.
Berkeley College will return to action on Friday evening, as the Knights will welcome Clinton College to CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 6:00pm.
