The Berkeley College women's basketball team picked up a much-needed victory on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Huskies of Word of Life by a score of 65-52 in HVIAC action. The contest took place at the Huskies Health & Athletic Center in Pottersville, NY. With the win, the Knights improved to a mark of 8-10 on the 2023-2024 campaign (1-0 HVIAC), while Word of Life dipped to 6-11 on the season (0-2 HVIAC).
In the victory for Berkeley, standout Keisy Villanueva led the way for her squad, scoring a team-high 18 points (7-13 FG) to go along with eight rebounds and a pair of swatted shots. Kanijah Jacobs posted a double-double with 17 points, game-highs of 12 assists and five steals, and four rebounds, and veteran Jordan Washington contributed nine points and five boards.
Allison Baker led the way for the Huskies in their defeat, as she drilled four triples, finishing with a game-high 20 points to go along with seven boards. MJ Buck scored 14 points while dishing a team-high five assists, and Dakotah Cutting posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Berkeley trailed 12-10 with 2:46 remaining in the opening quarter following a converted layup by Cutting. The Knights would finish the period strong, netting seven consecutive points, courtesy of buckets by Jacobs and Trinity Sierra, as well as a drained triple by Villanueva. After 10 minutes of action, the Knights held a 17-12 edge.
The Knights dominated the second quarter, outscoring the hosts 23-11 in the period. Berkeley, leading 31-23 with a shade over three minutes remaining in the half, rattled off nine consecutive points to take a commanding 40-23 edge as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime. That aforementioned 9-0 run featured hoops by Washington and Ally Cuffy, and five points from Villanueva.
The third quarter saw both teams go into an offensive funk, as the Knights and the Huskies each converted on just four of 17 shot attempts. Each HVIAC squad scored nine points in the third quarter, as the Knights maintained their 17-point edge (49-32) heading into the final quarter.
Berkeley scored the opening six points of the fourth to build a 23-point advantage (55-32), but a 18-8 run by Word of Life over a span of 4:57 brought the Huskies to within 13 points, 63-50, with 3:19 remaining. The Knights' defense would buckle down from there though, allowing only one more Huskies field goal the rest of the way, and eventually going on to win the contest, 65-52.
The Knights were the far more efficient team shooting the basketball, as Berkeley converted on 41.2 percent of its attempts from the floor (28-68) compared to the Huskies, who earned just a 28.6 percent conversion rate (22-77). Berkeley held a slight 45-41 edge on the glass, while also dishing 17 assists to Word of Life's 14. Each squad had nine steals, and the Huskies narrowly won the turnover battle, committing 14 miscues, while Berkeley finished with 15.
The Knights will look to carry the momentum of this victory into Sunday's game, as Berkeley will travel to the Pratt ARC to battle the Cannoneers in a matinee. Start-time for the clash is scheduled for 12:00pm.
