FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing their three-game homestand the Queens College women's basketball team welcomed the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College who entered Flushing receiving votes in the D2CCS East region poll in East Coast Conference play.
Four Knights led the scoring effort with junior
Amiyah Edney-Holmes (Philadelphia, PA) leading the way with a career-high 20 points, while sophomore
Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) notched 19 points. While rookies
Jalea Abrams (Elmira, N.Y.) recorded 15 points and
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) notched her seventh double-double of the year with 12 points and a career-best 19 rebounds as Queens defeated the Spartans to the final score of 66-61 Saturday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
With the win the Knights earned their sixth overall win of the year and second in conference play. Saturday's win also ended an 11-game losing streak to the Spartans as Queens earned their first victory since the 2016-17 season.
Game Recap
It would be a back-and-forth affair to open the game, but with the Knights trailing 9-8, Edney-Holmes and Davis recorded back-to-back jumpers as Queens took a 12-9 lead with 5:01 to go in the first quarter.
The Spartans would answer with a 7-0 run to take a 16-12 lead before Edney-Holmes and Abrams went on a 5-0 run to retake a slim lead of 17-16 but the Spartans would be first quarter buzzer beat to take a 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The first quarter saw seven lead changes and one tie with Edney-Holmes and Davis combing for 14 points for the Knights.
The second quarter would be another back-and-forth exchange as the stanza featured seven lead changes and four ties.
Both sides would trade buckets in the early going, but with the Knights trailing 25-22, Queens would go on a 6-0 run to take a 28-25 lead with 2:53 left until halftime.
The Spartans who were 0-of-8 from deep in the second quarter would knock down back-to-back threes to take a slim lead of 31-30 before Edney-Holmes capitalized on a third chance attempt for the Knights to answer back with a three of her own as Queens took a 33-31 lead.
But two made free throws from the Spartans would see both teams head into the locker room tied at 33-33.
The third quarter saw neither team letting the other pull away. With the Knights trailing 37-35 and 7:53 left, Abrams and Awaka would lead the way as Queens went on a 6-0 run from the 6:24 mark to 3:55 to take a four-point edge of 41-37.
But once again the Spartans answered with an 8-4 run to end the third quarter with the score tied at 45-45.
STAC opened the fourth quarter to take a 47-45 lead before an 11-4 run led by Abrams's seven points saw Queens take a 56-51 lead with 5:38 left in the game.
In a game that saw 18 lead changes and 10 ties, the visitors would tie the game at 56-56 at the 4:51 mark for the final time before Queens pulled away.
As Awaka took advantage of a second chance opportunity, Queens would take a 58-56 before Davis knocked out two free throws to put the Knights ahead 60-56 with 3:47 left in the game.
As Queens held the Spartans to one field goal over the final 4:06 of play as they got within two, 60-58 but Edney-Holmes's jumper at the 1:38 mark would put the game before Queens iced the game at the charity stripe to earn the 66-61 victory.
By the Numbers
- Edney-Holmes led the Knights offense with a career-high 20 points (8-of-13 FG, 2-of-5 3PT, 2-of-2 FT) to go with four assists and four rebounds.
- Davis recorded 19 points on 66.7% shooting (6-of-9 FG, 1-of-2 3PT, 6-of-6 FT) with six rebounds, four steals and one block
- Abrams notched 15 points (5-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 3PT, 3-of-4 FT) to go with five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block.
- Awaka recorded her team-leading seventh double-double of the year with 12 points, and a career-best 19 rebounds, and one assist.
- The 19 rebounds are the most by a rookie since Jennah DeGout recorded 22 rebounds against UDC on February 5, 2022.
- The 19 rebounds are the most in a single game this season among the conference teams.
- As a team, the Knights shot 51.0% as they went 25-49 from the field, while the Spartans were held to 31.3% on 21-67 from the field.
- The Knights held a rebounding margin of 41-31.
Next Game
The Knights conclude the homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 7) evening as they welcome the Lions of Molloy University to town. Tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.
Follow the Knights
All home games will be live-streamed on the
ECC Sports Network and fans can follow along on
live stats as well.
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).
