FLUSHING, N.Y. – Concluding a three-game non-conference homestand the Queens College women's basketball team welcomed the Purple Knights of the University of Bridgeport to Fitzgerald Gymnasium in a Battle of the Knights affair.
The duo of rookie
Ashley Chio (North Vancouver, Canada) and sophomore
Jalea Abrams (Elmira, N.Y.) paced the Knights offense as they combined for 34 points to help Queens defeat Bridgeport to the final score of 59-42 Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, Queens earned their sixth victory of the year to take a 6-5 overall record into 2025. Saturday's win over Bridgeport was the Knights' first victory over their former conference foe since the 75-60 victory on February 1, 2020.
GAME RECAP
It would be a back-and-forth first quarter of play as both sides combined for four lead changes and two ties as the Knights went into the second quarter trailing by one, 17-16.
Trailing by one to begin the second half, it would be a sluggish start to the stanza for both sides as they were held off the scoreboard until Chio broke the drought at the 6:16 mark to start a 10-1 run as Queens took a 26-18 lead by the 3:56 mark with Chio recording four points in the run.
With Queens leading by eight, the Purple Knights would cut the home side lead down to four points, 26-22 by the 3:03 mark before the Canadian native went on a personal run of seven straight points to extend the Knights' lead back to nine points, 33-24 with 54 seconds left until halftime.
However, Bridgeport would cut the advantage down to five points, 33-28 heading to the halftime break.
The third quarter would be another low-scoring affair but Queens would continue to hold on to their lead. Just as the Purple Knights cut the Knights lead down to one, 33-32 by the 3:27 mark, an Abrams three-pointer started a 7-2 run as Queens took a 40-34 with 35 seconds left in the stanza.
But the visitors would go 1-of-2 at the free throw to cut Queens down to five, 40-35 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Looking to put the game away, the trio of Abrams, sophomore forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.), and rookie guard
Sajol Thornhill (Ashburn, VA.) combined for a 10-2 run as Queens took a commanding lead of 50-37 forcing a Purple Knights timeout.
The visitors cut Queens' lead down to single digits, nine points, 50-41 by the 3:09 mark but the Knights looking for their sixth victory of the year would end the game on a 9-1 run as they held their counterparts to 0-of-3 from the field and forced five turnovers to close out the first half of the year with their sixth victory of the year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- It would all-round effort from Chio as the rookie tied a career-high 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the victory.
- Abrams recorded 15 points with five made three-pointers to go with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- For the fourth time this year, the sophomore guard has recorded five made three-pointers in a game.
- Awaka filled the stats sheet with nine points, eight rebounds, four blocks, one assist, and one steal in the victory.
- Thornhill notched eight points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal off the bench.
- Rookie forward Chinyere Ukaegbu (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied seven points six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
- Queens converted 20 Purple Knights turnovers into 17 points.
NEXT GAME
With a two-week break, the Knights will return to action in 2025 beginning with a road trip to Lakewood, N.J. on Monday, Jan. 6 against the Lions of Georgian Court University in their final non-conference game of the schedule. Tip-off is 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), Queens College WBB (QCKNIGHTS_WBB), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's basketball (qcknightswbb).
