Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The fans who packed Quealy Gymnasium to the rafters, or those that watched the video live as part of the ECC Doubleheader of the Week, saw two very different halves of basketball as Queens College rallied for a come from behind win at Molloy, 61-56. With the victory, the Knights improved to 9-11 overall and 6-7 in the East Coast Conference.
The Knights got off to a fast start as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead over the Lions in the first three minutes of action. Cat Pastor (Hewlett, N.Y./Hewlett) accounted for four points, while Joya McFarland (Bronx, N.Y./JFK) and Tara Fearon (Bronx N.Y./Blessed Sacrament) scored a bucket each.
Molloy responded from there, as a team that lived and died by the three-point shot started sinking them. The Lions used the next nine minutes to go on a 26-7 run to take a 15-point lead, 30-15, at the 8:40 mark. In that stretch, Molloy made six out of nine three-pointers.
The final eight minutes of play in the first half saw the Knights perform yeoman's work, as they methodically chipped away at the deficit. A Kristen Korzevinski (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park) layup at the 3:01 mark brought QC within eight, at 33-25, and was the final two points scored by either side in the half.
While the first half featured torrid shooting from Molloy, en route to a lead as large as 15 points, the second half was more akin to the Knights style of play all season; physical play under the boards with intense defense to force points in transition. The team was like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill, eventually getting over the hump.
The half began with the Knights down eight, but Bria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), who was held without a field goal in the first half, quickly sank a three-pointer and Queens was within five. She followed that with a basket and a pair of free throws to pull QC within two, 36-34, with 15:36 remaining.
Jackson would later regain the lead for the Knights on a pair of foul shots at 9:08. Molloy and QC exchanged the advantage from there, but it was a Fearon foul shot with three minutes left; that put the Knights ahead for good, as they pulled away to a 61-56 win.
Jackson scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record a double-double. Fearon also had double figures in points and rebounds with 11 and 10 respectively; while shooting 5-of-8. Finally, Korzevinski finished with 14 points.
After a brief respite, the Knights return to action on Saturday, February 16, when they travel to Bridgeport, Connecticut to face the Purple Knights. The start time for that game is 1:00 PM.
