The No. 3-seeded Berkeley College women's basketball team picked up a tremendous victory on Tuesday evening, defeating No. 6 seeded University of Maine-Fort Kent by a score of 64-60 in the quarterfinal round of the 2024-2025 USCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. With the victory, the Knights won their sixth consecutive game, improving to 14-9 overall on the season. The Bobcats dipped to a record of 11-11 with the defeat.
In the victory for the Knights, four players scored in double figures, including Ariella Johnson, as she netted a team-best 16 points while snatching seven rebounds. Her five steals tied her for the game-high, and she also swatted three shots. Magan Jackson posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She also tied for game-highs of five steals and four blocked shots. Maria Negron posted a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. She also registered four steals and tied for the game-high of four blocked shots, and Khya Hough finalized her evening with 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Despite the loss for the Bengals, Karolyn Baptiste's 21 points (8-10 FT) led all players. She also collected eight rebounds and dished two assists, as well. Cece Bell posted a huge double-double with 19 points and a game-high 24 rebounds. She also swiped three steals, as well. Finally, it was Nysia Ortiz finalizing her evening with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Things looked bleak for the nights through the opening 14:30 of action, as Berkeley was only able to muster nine points up until that point, and the lower-seeded Bengals held a commanding 23-9 edge. The Knights turned up the voltage from there, however, closing the half on a 9-3 run to pull to within eight (26-18) as time expired on the first half.
Berkeley used the opening 2:58 of the third quarter to capitalize on the momentum it built in the final 5:30 of the first half, as the Knights opened the session on an 11-2 run to take a 29-28 advantage. That aforementioned 11-2 spurt was highlighted by Jackson's five points. Later in the quarter, the University of Maine-Fort Kent grabbed the lead again, taking a 35-32 edge with 3:23 remaining in the third before a triple by Jackson squared the contest at 35-all. The teams were later knotted at 40 apiece before a converted trifecta by Cece Bell of the Bengals gave the University of Maine Fort Kent a 43-40 advantage heading into the fourth.
In the final period, the Knights trailed 52-45 with 5:42 left, but Berkeley scored nine of the next 11 points of the game to tie the thriller up at 54-all. Then, with 1:34 remaining, Anastasia Davis' three-point bucket put the Knights up for good, 57-54. Berkeley held a 62-60 advantage with four seconds to play, and a pair of clutch freebees by Johnson put the Knights ahead by four, essentially clinching the victory for Berkeley.
Neither team shot the ball well on the evening, but the Knights were the more efficient team shooting the basketball, as Berkeley connected on 32.9 percent of its attempts from the floor (32-70), while the Bengals converted on just 18 of 71 attempts (25.4 percent). The teams combined for 51 free throw attempts on the night, with the University of Maine-Fort Kent shooting slightly better, as the Bengals nailed 63.3 percent of its freebees (19-30), while the Knights connected on 13 of 21 attempts (61.9 percent). The University of Maine-Fort Kent held a 59-49 edge on the glass, but the Knights swiped 19 steals compared to the Bengals' nine, and Berkeley swatted 13 shots, while the opposition finished with just two. The Knights won the turnover battle, committing 26 miscues, while the University of Maine-Fort Kent had 32 miscues.
The Knights will now advance to take on No. 2-seeded North American University on Thursday evening at 7:45pm at the Burt Flickinger Center in Buffalo, NY, with a spot in the tournament's championship game on the line.
