The Berkeley College women's basketball team split four games in recent weeks, falling to Clinton College 86-48 back on January 27th, and Middlesex, 61-57 this past Saturday, before downing NCAA Division III member Pratt Institute 66-54 yesterday, and defeating regional foe Five Towns College via forfeit (2-0) this evening. With that 2-2 output, the Knights are now 3-20 on the 2022-2023 campaign (1-2 HVIAC).

 

Clinton College improved to 10-2 with the victory, while Middlesex improve its mark to 10-13. Pratt Institute continued to struggle, dipping to 1-19, and Five Towns slipped to 2-8 (1-1 HVIAC).

 

In the Knights' loss to the Golden Bears, Berkeley was led by Amal Mahmoud, as she scored a team-high 18 points while snatching a game-high 21 rebounds. Zanya Henderson posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Mia Lashley netted eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

 

Clinton College was paced by Logan Taylor-McDaniel in its victory, as she posted a double-double with a game-high 23 points and a team-high 15 rebounds. She also swiped four steals, as well. Rayanna Davis added 22 points, a game-high nine steals, eight rebounds, and three dimes, and Jasmine Jenkins finalized her evening with 18 points, eight steals, four assists, and three boards.

 

Berkeley trailed 9-8 with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter, before the Golden Bears finished the period on a 9-0 run to snatch an 18-8 lead after 10 minutes of action. Clinton College continued its run in the second quarter, netting the first 10 points of the period to take a commanding 28-8 advantage. The Golden Bears led by as many as 23 in the half, before taking a 39-18 edge into the locker room at halftime.

 

Clinton College broke the game wide open in the third, starting the period on a 10-0 run to take a 49-18 lead. The Golden Bears would eventually build a lead as big as 43 points, before winning the game by 38.

 

The Golden Bears connected on 36.7 percent of their attempts from the floor (33-90), while Berkeley earned a 30.6 percent conversion rate (19-62). Berkeley lost the game despite out-rebounding the visitors 60-43, but Clinton College won the turnover battle by a wide margin, committing 17 miscues while Berkeley had 48. The Golden Bears held a slim 14-10 edge in the assists category.

 

In Berkeley's tough defeat at Middlesex, Mahmoud once again paced Berkeley, as she scored a game-high 20 points while snatching a team-high 11 boards. Henderson added 14 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and Beulah Dixon Blake contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.

 

For the Colts, Vanessa Rivas scored 17 points while posting game-highs of 14 rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots. Carla Seyfarth contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, and Franchesa Derilus finalized her afternoon with 12 points and three dimes.

 

The Knights shot 37.9 percent from the floor in the game (22-58), while Middlesex converted on 36.2 percent of its attempts (25-69). The Colts held a 44-37 edge on the glass, while also dishing 12 assists compared to eight for the visitors. Both teams took care of the ball relatively well, as Berkeley committed just 17 miscues, with the hosts finishing with 15.

 

In the Knights' victory over NCAA Division III Pratt, Mahmoud dominated in all facets, connecting on 12 of her 20 attempts from the floor and tying for the game-high of 27 points. Her 12 rebounds were a team-best, and her six assists and six steals were game-highs. Dixon Blake also put forth a terrific effort, as she finished with 15 points, four boards, and four dimes, and Henderson narrowly missed a double-double, as she scored eight points and snatched 10 rebounds.

 

Despite the loss for the Cannoneers, Pratt was led by Kylie Grant, as she connected on 13 of her 16 attempts from the line to tie for the game-high of 27 points. She also collected a game-high 14 rebounds, while dishing a team-high 14 assists. Victoria Liu added 11 points and three boards, and Kinako Miyake finalized her evening with seven points, three rebounds, and three assists.

 

The Knights shot a blistering 61 percent in the first quarter to take a 25-10 lead after 10 minutes of action. Pratt Institute battled back, eventually pulling to within three, 30-27, before a 9-4 Berkeley run to close the quarter put the Knights ahead 39-31 as time expired on the first half.

 

Berkeley went up by 10 (46-36) with 7:12 remaining in the third, but the Cannoneers went on an 8-0 run over a span of 3:11 to slice the Knights' lead to two at 46-44. Berkeley then finished the quarter with nine straight points, thanks to a basket by Mahmoud, two converted freebees by Blake, a made free throw by Alavenda Nelson, another hoop by Mahmoud, and a bucket by Blake. After three quarters, Berkeley led 55-44. 

 

In the fourth quarter, the Knights' lead would never dip below seven points (55-48), and the Berkeley defense would allow just six points over the final 8:47 of action to close out an impressive victory.

 

Berkeley shot 40.6 percent from the floor (28-69), while Pratt was only able to connect on 17 of 56 attempts (30.4 percent). The Knights held a respectable 47-40 edge on the glass, while also dishing 16 assists compared to nine for the Cannoneers. The Knights held their turnovers in check, committing only 16 while Pratt had 23, and Berkeley dominated in the paint, netting 40 points there compared to 22 for the hosts.

 

Earlier this evening, the Knights defeated the Sound of Five Towns College via forfeit as the Sound dipped below the necessary three players needed with 2:27 left. Berkeley trailed by three at the time (52-49), but were awarded the victory when the Sound dropped to two available players.

 

In the win for Berkeley, Mahmoud posted team-highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds, while tying for the game-high of four steals. Henderson nearly registered a double-double, as she scored eight points while snatching 14 rebounds, and Blake contributed five points.

 

Jordan Tobin scored a game-high 31 points, and led all players with 22 rebounds in the Sound's loss. She also added two swatted shots and a pair of steals. In addition, it was Sydney Mountain netting 12 points, snatching six rebounds, swiping four steals, and dropping two dimes.

 

Berkeley led 11-8 after the first quarter, but Five Towns started the second on a 17-2 run, as the Sound catapulted ahead by a score of 25-13. The pendulum then swung in the Knights' direction, as Berkeley used eight consecutive points to pull to within four, 25-21, at halftime. Mahmoud netted six of the eight points during that aforementioned run.

 

The Knights trailed 33-28 with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter, but a 9-1 run by Five Towns for the remainder of the period put the Sound in prime position to get a victory, as Five Towns snatched a 42-29 edge after 30 minutes of action. 

 

In what was a wild fourth quarter, Berkeley trailed 49-36 with 5:03 to play, before putting together a 13-3 run to slice Five Towns' edge to three, 52-49, with 2:27 left. The Sound, who already had one of their players foul out, and one player suffer a game-ending injury earlier in the quarter, had another player fall victim to injury, as the Sound dipped below the necessary players needed for game resumption. With that, Berkeley was awarded the HVIAC victory via forfeit.

 

Remarkably, the teams identically shot 18 for 61 from the floor (29.5 percent). The Knights held a 47-44 edge on the glass, while also narrowly winning the turnover battle, committing 21 compared to 24 for the Sound. Berkeley also tallied 13 steals compared to 10 for the hosts.

 

Berkeley will look to make it three consecutive victories on Saturday, as the Knights will host Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) at CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium. Start-time for that game is scheduled for 4:00pm.