FLUSHING, N.Y. – Returning home for the first time since December 19, the Queens College women's basketball team dug deep to defeat the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan University inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium in East Coast Conference play Friday evening.
Led by a game-high 26 points from sophomore
Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.), while the rookies
Jalea Abrams (Elmira, N.Y.) and
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) combined for 37 points with Abrams recording a career-high 21 points and Awaka recording her sixth double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, the Knights defeated the Redhawks to the final score of 68-59 to earn their first ECC victory of the season.
Game Recap
Queens got off to a quick start as they used three Redhawks turnovers to take a 6-0 lead with 8:03 left in the first quarter.
The Redhawks would get on the board at the 7:40 mark to go on a 4-0 run to cut the score down to 6-4 before the Knights used an 11-2 run from the 6:45 mark to the 3:58 mark to take an 11 point lead of 17-6 lead.
But the visitors would end the stanza on a 11-3 run to cut the Knights advantage down to 20-17 heading into the second quarter of play. Davis would lead the charge for the Knights with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter.
Queens would extend their lead to six points with Davis and sophomore
Gianna Henriques (Bronx, N.Y.) putting the Knights on a 6-3 run to open the second quarter for a 26-20 lead with 8:35 to go.
However, the Redhawks would respond with a 12-2 run as they took their first lead of the game with a 32-28 advantage with 5:43 to go until halftime.
As both teams went scoreless for two and half minutes, Awaka and Davis would help the Knights close the second quarter on a 7-3 run as Queens went into halftime with the game tied at 35-35.
A jumper from Awaka helped the Knights take a quick 37-35 lead to open the third quarter at the 9:41 mark before both teams went scoreless over three minutes before a jumper from Davis broke the drought to put the Knights up 39-35 with 6:51 to go.
The Redhawks would respond with a 5-2 run as they cut the advantage down to one point, 41-40 with 5:04 to go in the stanza.
However Queens responded with a 7-0 run to extend their advantage to eight points, 48-40 at the 3:09 mark before both teams traded buckets for the final 2:55 minutes of the third quarter, but the Knights would take a nine-point lead of 55-46 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Leading by nine points to open the fourth quarter, it would be the visitors who answered back with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 57-57 with 4:28 to go.
With the Knights being held to two points and the Redhawks clawing back to tie the game just for the second time in the game, It would be the Knights who had the final answer as they ended the game on an 11-2 run over the final 4:12 minutes of the game with Awaka and Abrams combining for eight points.
The Knights' defense would hold the Redhawks to 1-of-7 from the field in their final run to earn their first ECC victory of the year.
By the Numbers
- Davis led the offense with a game-high 26 points (11-of-20 FG, 4-of-4 FT) to go with five steals, four assists, and three rebounds.
- Abrams recorded a career-high 21 points (5-of-15 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 8-of-10 FT) with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
- The three-made three-pointers and eight made free throws were a career-high for the rookie.
- Awaka recorded her team-leading sixth double-double with 16 points (6-of-12 FG, 4-of-9 FT) to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, and two steals.
- Junior Lateisha Willis (Nottingham, England) tallied two points, seven rebounds, four steals, and one block on the evening.
- As a team, the Knights shot 38.1% as they went 24-63 from the field, while the Redhawks were held to 37.7% on 23-61 from the field.
- Both teams were even on the rebounding battle with 41-41, while the Knights held a slim advantage on second-chance points with a 12-10 margin.
- The Knights forced 21 Roberts Wesleyan turnovers as they converted them to 18 points.
Next Game
The Knights return to action Friday (Jan. 26) evening as they open a two-game road stand beginning with a matchup against the Saints of D'Youville University in Buffalo, N.Y. in ECC play. Tip-off set for 8:00 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).
