FLUSHING, N.Y. (Jan. 22, 2020) – Freshman forward
Raiana Brown had another double-double for the Queens College women's basketball team but the Knights were sluggish from the start of Wednesday evening's (Jan. 22) contest as QC fell to District of Columbia by a final score of 67-43 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Queens is now 5-13 on the season and 2-5 in East Coast Conference play while UDC improves to 5-13 and 2-5 in league action.
Brown hit 70% (7-10) of her shots and scored 18 points while adding 11 rebounds for Queens.
Nalae Crosland added seven points and four rebounds off the bench in the effort.
The Firebirds were led by Latavia Jackson's 17 points and five assists with 13 points and five assists coming from Maya Thomas. Tyra Coombs added 10 points in the win for the visitors.
Despite taking ten less shots in the first half, the Knights only trailed by four points (26-22) at the halftime break thanks in part to QC's foul shooting and UDC's lack of three-point shooting. The Knights went 9-for-14 from the free-throw line in the first half of play; concurrently, District of Columbia was just 2-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc. UDC took the lead as Desiree Gaeckler had the first bucket of the game with almost a minute of time elapsed from the first quarter. The Knights led by an 8-5 margin thanks to a three-pointer from
Harmony Philo and a Brown lay-up at the midpoint of the frame, but the visitors would end the quarter on an 11-7 run to claim a 16-15 lead after one quarter. Both teams struggled from the floor in the second period, with UDC hitting just 25% (3-12) of its shots while Crosland and
Chidinma Ndukauba were the only players to make a field goal in the frame for Queens (2-12, 17% in the second quarter).
The Firebirds would outscore the host Knights by a 41-21 margin in the second half, as Queens was undone by its own turnovers as well as a tough evening from the floor. The Knights ended the contest hitting just 13-of-40 (33%) from the field. UDC, meanwhile, went 24-for-60 from the floor (40%) and the Firebirds scored 24 points off of QC's 30 turnovers.
Queens will next play Bridgeport as the second half of conference season begins on Feb. 1 with the Knights tipping off at 3:30 p.m.
