FLUSHING, N.Y. – On Tuesday (Dec. 19) evening the Queens College women's basketball team were led by rookie
Jalea Abrams's (Elmira, N.Y.) game-high 17 points and junior
Lateisha Willis's (Nottingham, England) second double-double of the year as the Knights welcomed the Yellow Jackets of American International College to Fitzgerald Gymnasium in non-conference play.
Game Recap
Both teams opened the first quarter trading buckets, but with the score tied at 4-4, the visitors would go on a 10-2 run as they took a 14-6 lead with 5:40 to go in the stanza.
Queens would end the final 4:49 of the first quarter on a 6-3 run as the Knights got within five, 17-12 heading into the second quarter of play.
The Knights would continue to keep pace with AIC in the opening three minutes of the second quarter as they kept their deficit in the single digits as they trailed by three, 21-18.
However, the Yellow Jackets would end the second stanza on a 12-0 run as they took advantage of eight turnovers to take a 33-18 lead heading into halftime.
The Yellow Jackets would extend their lead to 20 points, 40-20 with 8:00 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
But the Knights would end the third quarter on an 8-3 run as they held the Yellow Jackets to 1-of-13 from the field to cut their deficit down to 15, 43-28 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Trailing by 16, 44-28, Queens would not down without a fight as they used an 8-0 run from 9:23 to 6:56 to cut their deficit down to eight points, 44-36 as AIC missed their first eight shots of the fourth quarter.
Both teams would trade buckets over the next few possessions with Abrams recording five straight points to get the Knights within nine, 52-43 with 4:01 left in the game.
But the Yellow Jackets would go on 8-0 run to extend their lead back to double-digits as the comeback rally fell short with Queens falling to the final score of 60-45 Tuesday evening.
By the Numbers
- Rookie Abrams recorded a game-high 17 points (7-of-18 FG, 2-of-2 FT) to go with six rebounds and one block.
- Willis tallied her second double-double of the year with 12 points (4-of-8 FG, 4-of-4 FT), 15 rebounds (career-best), and two steals.
- Rookie Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) notched six points, 11 rebounds and two steals.
- Sophomore Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded six points, three rebounds, four assists, and five steals in the contest.
- As a team, the Knights were held to 29.5% as they went 18-61 from the field, while the Yellow Jackets shot 35.8% going 24-67 from the field.
Next Game
Following the Holiday break, the Knights return to action on Saturday (Dec. 30) afternoon as they travel to West Hartford, CT against the Hawks of the University of Hartford. 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), Queens College WBB (QCKNIGHTS_WBB), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's basketball (qcknightswbb).
