FLUSHING, N.Y. – Playing their first home game of the season, the Queens College women's basketball team welcomed the Eagles of Post University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Thursday evening in non-conference action.
Trailing by as much as 20 points in the second half, the sophomore duo of
Jennah DeGout (Bronx, N.Y.) and
Chelsea Reeves (Brooklyn, N.Y.) combined for 25 points in the final 13:04 of play to lead the comeback before Queens fell in a heartbreaking loss to the Eagles.
Game Recap
The Knights got off to a quick start as freshman
Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) tallied four straight points before Reeves's two free throws put the Knights up 6-2 by the 7:12 mark in the first quarter.
After Reeves put the Knights up 9-4, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take a 10-9 lead with 4:00 left in the first quarter.
Graduate student
Raven Pitt (Valley Stream, N.Y.) tallied two quick jumpers to put Queens' back up by three 13-10 before Post responded on their end.
Trailing by four, a jumper by junior
Khadija Demry (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would see the Knights would go into the second quarter trailing by two, 17-15.
Just 49 seconds into resumption, Demry and Pitt would help Queens reclaim a one-point edge of 18-17 before the visitors went on a 7-2 run to take a 24-20 lead with 7:34 left until halftime.
The Knights would be held scoreless from 8:25 to 6:04 before sophomore
Aalia Carlson's (Montclair, N.J.) three-pointer stopped the drought and got the Knights within one, 24-23.
The Eagles end the second quarter on a 13-4 run from the 5:34 mark to the 0:17 mark as the Knights shot 2-9 from the field and committed four turnovers as they trailed 37-27 at halftime.
It was a sluggish start to the third quarter as Queens missed their first eight shots while Post opened the quarter on a 12-2 run from 9:28 to the 4:06 mark to take a 49-29 lead.
Trialing by 20, sophomore
Farrah Pitt (Valley Stream, N.Y.) would start the comeback rally with a steal and layup to stop the Knights' drought at 3:04. A long jumper from Carlson before a jumper from
Farrah Pitt saw the deficit cut down to 14 with 1:45 left until the fourth quarter.
A free throw by the Eagles would put them back up by 15, 50-35 with 1:24 before Demry and Reeves closed out the third quarter on a 6-0 run to bring the deficit down to nine, 50-41 to set up a thrilling final 10 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter would see the sophomore duo of DeGout and Reeves lead the charge as they combined for 17 points.
DeGout and Reeves combined for the first five points to open the fourth quarter as Queens cut the deficit down to six, 52-46 at the 9:14 mark.
Post went on a 5-2 run to reclaim a nine-point edge with 7:22 left in the game.
Having cut a double-digit deficit down to single digits, DeGout and the Knights refused to go away quietly as the Bronx native tallied six straight points before a Reeves three-point play tied the game at 57-57 with 4:28 left in the game.
The Knights had battled back from a 20-point deficit and tied the game at 57-57 since the 8:25 mark in the second quarter.
A foul by the Eagles at the 2:21 mark would send DeGout to the line for a chance to reclaim the lead, their first lead since the second quarter, and the Bronx native would knock down both as the Knights took a 59-57 slim lead.
But the Eagles would respond would quickly with a layup to knot the game 59-59 with 2:04 left in the game.
Both sides would go scoreless as they combined for four turnovers before Reeves got fouled and with the Knights in the bonus, it would send the sophomore to the charity stripe.
With 29 seconds left in the game, the sophomore would miss the first one before knocking down the second to give Queens a one-point edge of 60-59.
With 16 seconds left in the game, and the Eagles now looking to steal the game from the Knights, Post would miss two straight jumpers before grasping the ball to call their final timeout.
Post would take advantage of their third play and steal the game on an inbound play to take a 61-60 lead with six seconds left in the game.
After the Knights used their final timeout and advanced the ball,
Farrah Pitt's last-second floater would rattle off the rim to leave the Knights dejected as the second-half comeback fell short as Queens dropped their home opener to the final score of 61-60 Thursday evening.
Game Highlights
- Reeves led the Knights' offense with a team-high 14 points (4-7 FG), eight rebounds, and three steals.
- Off the bench, DeGout tallied 11 points (4-9 FG) with six rebounds, while Raven Pitt recorded six points, four rebounds, and a team-high five assists.
- In the second-half comeback, the Knights outscored the Eagles 33-24 on 44.4% (12-27 FG) including a 53.8% shooting performance of 7-13 from the field in the fourth quarter.
- Queens won a slim 39-37 edge on rebounds, while the Eagles held a 16-9 margin on second-chance points.
NEXT TIP-OFF: Queens opens a season-high six-game road stand beginning on Sunday (Nov. 20) afternoon with a trip to Springfield, Massachusetts as they match up against the Yellow Jackets of American International College. Tip-Off set for 2:00 P.M.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at
queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook
(Queens College Athletics), Twitter
(@QCKnights), Queens College WBB
(QCKNIGHTS_WBB), and Instagram
(qcknightsny), women's basketball
(qcknightswbb).
