The Berkeley College women's basketball team increased its winning streak to three games over the weekend, defeating HVIAC foes Word of Life (90-30 on Saturday) and Albany College of Pharmacy (69-54 on Sunday). With the triumphs, the Knights are now 7-5 on the 2019-2020 campaign. The Huskies are now 2-12 on the season (1-5 HVIAC), while the Panthers are 5-7 (3-1 HVIAC).
With this weekend's output, the Knights magic number for clinching the No. 1 seed in the upcoming HVIAC Women's Basketball Tournament is down to one. Berkeley can clinch the top overall spot in that aforementioned tournament by defeating Five Towns College when the teams meet on February 5, or if the Sound suffers one more conference loss along the way (either against Vaughn College or King's-NY).
In Berkeley's triumph over the Huskies this past Saturday, Kaina Martinez was sensational, as she recorded a game-high 29 points, draining 12 of her 22 shots from the floor in the process. She also grabbed seven rebounds, tied for the game-high in assists with seven, and tallied four steals. Amirah Greene posted a double-double, dropping in 22 points while snatching 11 boards, registering three assists, notching three steals, and swatting a pair of shots, and veteran Ebony Lofton contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
Despite the loss for Word of Life, the Huskies were led by Allison Reda, as she posted team-highs of seven points and eight rebounds.
The Knights shot 46 percent from the floor in the victory, hitting on 40 of their 87 attempts. Berkeley held Word of Life to just 13 field goals for the contest (13-57, 22.8 percent), and the Knights dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Huskies 45-33. Berkeley committed just 11 turnovers in the game while forcing a whopping 37 Word of Life mistakes.
On Sunday, in Berkeley's 15-point victory over previously ranked No. 1 Albany, four Knights scored in double figures, including Greene, as she was incredibly efficient on the day, drilling six of her nine attempts from the floor to finish with 15 points. She also grabbed four rebounds and tallied a game-high four steals. Martinez netted 17 points despite struggling from the floor (6-23 FG). She also contributed 17 points, a game-high six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Starasia Lawley posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 caroms, and Sabriana Franck finalized her day with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and two swatted shots.
Despite the loss for Albany, the Panthers were paced by Emma Webster, as she hit six three-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points. Clare Snell contributed eight points, a team-high 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and it was Emily D'Abrosca finishing with nine points and five boards.
Both teams struggled shooting the basketball, with the Knights shooting just 36.6 percent (26-71) compared to 33.3 percent conversion rate for Albany (17-51). The Knights out-rebounded the Panthers 47-35, while also registering 16 assists to the opposition's 12. Berkeley also won the turnover battle, committing 18 miscues while forcing 21 Albany mistakes.
The Knights will now have an extended break, and will return to action on Monday, February 3, as Berkeley will take on the Maccabees of Yeshiva University. The game will take place at the City College of New York's Nat Holman Gymnasium, with a start-time of 8:00pm.
