FLUSHING, N.Y. – After being named East Coast Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon sophomore forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) put together another stellar performance as Hyde Park native recorded her seventh double-double of the year with a game-high 17 points and 17 rebounds, while rookie guard
Ashley Chio (North Vancouver, Canada) tallied 16 points for the Queens College women's basketball team against the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium Wednesday evening.
But as the duo of Awaka and Chio combined for 33 points, the Knights' fourth quarter shooting struggle would see Queens fall to the final score of 55-52 in conference play.
With the loss, the Knights move to 3-4 in ECC play and into sixth place in the conference standing.
GAME RECAP
It would be a slow start to the game for the home side as they fell behind 10-0 by the 6:36 mark before the forward duo of rookie
Jaeda Hall (Saint Albans, N.Y.) and Awaka combined for a 5-0 run in quick succession to get the Knights within five, 10-5 by the 5:05 mark.
Just as the Firebirds stopped their scoring drought to extend their lead to seven points, 12-5 at the 3:12 mark, Chio would lead the home side offense as the rookie guard traded shots with the Firebirds offense to get her side within six, 19-13 entering the second quarter of play.
Feeding off Chio's run to end the first quarter of play, Awaka would record four straight points as the Knights got within two, 19-17 by the 8:20 mark.
But UDC would respond with an 8-2 run to extend their lead back to seven points, 27-20 with 5:49 left in the second stanza.
However, over the final 4:58 of the second quarter, the Knights would turn on the defensive pressure as they held the Firebirds to 0-of-8 from the field and forced three turnovers to end the stanza on a 7-0 run and go into halftime with the game tied at 27-27.
As the Firebirds opened the scoring in the third quarter to take a 29-27 lead, Queens would respond with a 7-0 run with Chio chipping in with five straight points as the Knights took a 34-29 lead with 6:03 to go in the stanza.
In the third quarter, Queens would hold UDC to single digits for the second straight quarter as they outscored the visitors 13-7 to take a six point lead of 40-34 into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Rookie point guard
Arianna Lopez (Newburgh, N.Y.) opened the scoring for the Knights at the charity stripe going 1-of-2 at the line to extend their lead to seven points, 41-34 with 9:35 left in the game.
But as the Knights slipped into a scoring drought, the Firebirds would start to cut into the home side's advantage as they were able to get within one, 40-41 by the 7:01 mark.
A jumper from Hall would break Queens' drought as the Knights extended their lead back to three points, 43-40 at the 6:25 mark.
With the Knights shooting below 20.0% in the stanza, the Firebirds rallied using a 15-9 run to take the first meeting of the year over Queens.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Awaka recorded her seventh double-double of the year and fifth in the last six games with a game-high 17 points, and 17 rebounds (9-8) to go with two steals.
- In the last four games, the Hyde Park native has recorded 17 rebounds on three separate occasions.
- Chio recorded 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting including tying a career-best four made three-pointers and six steals to go with five rebounds and five assists.
- Lopez recorded eight points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal in the contest.
NEXT GAME
The Knights conclude the first half of the ECC slate on Saturday, Jan. 25 as they welcome the Dolphins of College of Staten Island to town. The Dolphins enter Flushing with an overall record of 12-6 and 6-1 in ECC play and are coming off a 74-46 victory over Molloy University Wednesday evening. Tip-off is set for 1:00 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).
