BUFFALO, N.Y. – East Coast Conference play opened in Buffalo, New York as the Queens College women's basketball team matched up against the Saints of D'Youville University inside College Center Gym.
Freshman
Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, but the Knights were unable to complete a comeback rally to fall to the final score of 56-49 Friday evening.
Game Recap
Lapertosa opened the scoring for the Knights as the visitors took an early 4-0 point lead before the Saints knotted the game 4-4 with 6:46 left in the first quarter.
Both sides would trade buckets as they went into the second quarter tied at 12-12.
Queens would struggle in the opening minutes of the second quarter as D'Youville went on an 8-2 run to take a 20-14 lead with 6:35 left until halftime.
Graduate student
Raven Pitt (Valley Stream, N.Y.) would stop the scoreless drought at 5:37 to get the Knights within four, 20-14, before the Saints extended their advantage to eight, 24-16.
Lapertosa would take over for the final 4:09 minutes of play of the second quarter as the Whitesboro native tallied an 8-3 run for the Knights to bring them within three, 27-24 halftime.
D'Youville opened the third quarter extending their lead up to five, 29-24 before sophomore
Tayanee Peay (Amityville, N.Y.) started a 10-4 run for the Knights from the 8:25 mark to the 3:30 mark as they took a 34-33 lead.
But the Saint responded with a run of their own as they ended the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 45-36 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Queens would attempt a rally to open the fourth quarter as they went on a 9-4 run to cut their deficit down to four, 49-45 with 4:06 left in the game.
But the Knights would miss their next three shots as the Saints fended off a Queens comeback in the conference opener for both teams.
Game Highlights
- Lapertosa led the offense with her third double-double of the season and second straight as the rookie recorded a career-high 24 points (10-17 FG) to go with 13 rebounds and two blocks.
- Off the bench freshman Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) notched a career-high eight points (3-5 FG) with two rebounds.
- On the defensive end, Queens tallied six steals and five blocks and held a 15-7 advantage on points off turnovers.
- The Knights shot 33.3% from the field with a 20-60 shooting performance, while the Saints shot 41.5% from the field with a 22-53 field goal performance.
NEXT TIP-OFF: Head coach
Bet Naumovski and the Knights conclude the road stand against defending ECC Champions Daemen University Wildcats on Sunday (Dec. 2) afternoon in Amherst. Tip-Off set for noon.
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).
