FLUSHING, N.Y. – On Alumni Day, the underclassmen guard duo of freshman
Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomore
Chelsea Reeves (Brooklyn, N.Y.) combined for 26 points to lead the Queens College women's basketball team offense against the visiting Firebirds of University of the District of Columbia in East Coast Conference action inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
But it was the graduate student
Raven Pitt (Valley Stream, N.Y.) who would deliver the game-winner with 0.08 seconds left in the game as the Knights erased a 12-point deficit to emerge victorious in the 48-47 final to keep their ECC postseason hopes alive.
Saturday's win see the Knights end a seven-game losing streak to the Firebirds and their first win at home since the 2017-18 season when they earned a 72-68 victory on December 30, 2017.
Game Recap
The Knights opened the scoring through Davis and sophomore
Farrah Pitt (Valley Stream, N.Y.) who put the Knights up 6-0 with 7:09 to go in the first quarter.
Queens would go into a shooting slump but the defense would continue to keep the Firebirds off the scoreboard as the visitors missed their first six shots until the 4:43 mark.
Back-to-back buckets by the Firebirds would see them cut Queens' lead down to two, 6-4 before Reeves and older sister
Raven Pitt ended the first quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 12-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Knights would struggle in the second quarter as they committed eight turnovers while the Firebirds went on an 11-3 run in the stanza to take a 17-15 lead at halftime.
Three fouls and two coming in the second quarter would limit Reeves to just 3:32 minute of play as they found themselves trailing by two at halftime.
The visitors would continue to extend their lead to six but the Knights would answer with timely buckets to stay within distance.
Trailing by six, 25-19 at the 5:33 mark, the Knights would go on a 4-0 run to get within two, 25-23, but the Firebirds would tally a 10-0 run to take a 12-point lead of 35-23.
But a jumper by Davis would help Queens cut the deficit down to 10, 35-25 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Looking to mount a comeback, junior
Kendra McPeek (Binghamton, N.Y.) would take over in the post as the Knights tallied an 11-1 from the 8:41 mark to the 5:33 mark as the home side tied the game at 36-36.
Queens forced five missed shots and two turnovers in their 11-1 run to tie the game.
Both sides would trade leads, but with the Knights leading 40-39 after two Reeves made free throws, the Firebirds would go on a 6-0 run to take a 45-40 lead with 3:06 left in the game.
McPeek and Davis would help Queens respond with a 6-0 run from 2:49 to 1:15 as the Knights retook a 46-45 lead.
A late shooting foul by the Knights would put the Firebirds at the line but the visitors would only be able to convert 1-of-2 to tie the game before a turnover by the Knights gave the visitors the ball with 35 seconds left in the game.
Another foul by the Knights would give the Firebirds the chance to win the game but once again they would go 1-of-2 at the line, but it would give them a 47-46 lead with nine seconds left in the game.
Out of timeouts and needing to travel the full length of the court to deliver the game-winner,
Raven Pitt would call her number and the graduate student would call
bank as she sank her hook shot with .08 seconds left in the game to earn the 48-47 comeback victory over the Firebirds on Alumni Day.
In a game of runs that saw five ties and six lead changes, a fourth-quarter comeback by the Knights would see them shoot a searing 61.5% from the field going 8-13 while committing one turnover while the defense held the Firebirds to 33.3% shooting on 4-12 from the field with four turnovers.
Game Highlights
- Davis notched her fifth double-double of the season and second straight with a game-and-team high 16 points (7-17 FG, 2-5 FT) to go with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.
- Reeves recorded 10 points (3-8 FG, 4-4 FT) with seven rebounds, and team-and-season high five assists.
- McPeek tallied a near double-double with nine points (4-5 FG, 1-2 FT) to go with nine rebounds and one block.
- Pitt recorded eight points (4-15 FG), and six rebounds on the afternoon.
- The Knights shot 39.2% going 20-51 from the field while holding the Firebirds to 30.6% from the field on 19-62 shooting.
- Game of two halves as the Knights shot 25.9% in the first half while doubling the numbers in the second half as they shot 54.2%.
- Queens won the boards battle (43-36), but the Firebirds would hold a 10-4 margin on second-chance points.
NEXT TIP-OFF: Head coach
Bet Naumovski and the Knights open a three-game road stand beginning with non-conference action in Wilmington, Del., on Wednesday (Feb. 15) evening as they matchup against the Wildcats of Wilmington University. Tipoff set for 5:00 p.m.
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