The Berkeley College women's basketball team picked up a solid victory on Sunday, defeating the Lynx of NHTI by a score of 64-54 on day two of the NHTI New Year's Classic. The contest took place at Goldie Crocker Wellness Center in Concord, New Hampshire. With the victory, the Knights improved to a mark of 6-6 on the 2019-2020 campaign.
Sabriana Franck was tremendous in Berkeley's victory. The newcomer netted a game-high 27 points, connecting on nine of her 20 attempts from the floor, while also draining all six of her free throw attempts. In addition, she grabbed four rebounds, registered four assists, and added a pair of swatted shots. Kaina Martinez posted a double-double, scoring 14 points, snatching 10 rebounds, tallying a game-high five steals, and adding four assists, and Starasia Lawley recorded a double-double, netting 12 points, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds, and adding three steals.
Despite the loss for NHTI, the Lynx Janessa Lofton scored a team-high 17 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds while adding a pair of steals. Michaella Biron registered a double-double, scoring 13 points while snatching 12 boards, and it was Mary Grzanna contributing nine points and a game-high 18 rebounds.
The Knights trailed by seven early in this one, as NHTI raced out to a 15-8 advantage just 5:54 into the first quarter. Berkeley responded with a 10-0 run over the ensuing 5:01 to take an 18-15 lead with 9:05 remaining in the opening half. That 10-0 spurt featured Martinez and Franck scoring five points apiece.
The game stayed close over the next 4:23 of action, with Berkeley holding just a one point edge, 25-24, with 4:42 left in the opening half. That is where the pendulum would swing completely in the Knights favor for the remainder of the contest. The Knights would finish the half on a 9-0 run to take a 34-24 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of action. That aforementioned 9-0 run featured a basket by Lawley, a converted three point basket by Franck, a made layup by Ebony Lofton, and a drained layup by Martinez.
Berkeley increased its lead to 11 points in the early portion of the third quarter (38-27), but the Lynx would outscore the Knights 9-2 over a span of 3:09 to cut Berkeley's advantage to four points at 40-36. The Knights would then answer with an 11-3 run to end the quarter, as Berkeley took a 51-39 lead into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights went up by as many as 19 points (61-42) before holding on to register an impressive 10-point victory.
Both teams struggled shooting the basketball, with the Knights hitting on just 28.3 percent of their attempts from the floor (26-92), compared to a 27 percent conversion rate for NHTI (20-74). Berkeley held a 60-53 edge in the rebounding department, while also committing 21 turnovers while forcing 29 Lynx mistakes. The Knights tallied 26 points in the paint to 18 for the opposition. NHTI did hold an edge in assists, tallying 15 to Berkeley's 11.
The Knights will resume their schedule next weekend with a pair of Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests. Berkeley will play at Word of Life on Saturday, January 11, before turning around and playing a road contest the next day At Albany College of Pharmacy. Both clashes are set for 2:00pm starts.
