LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Returning to action for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Queens College women's basketball team matched up against the Lions of Georgian Court University inside the GCU Wellness Center to conclude non-conference action Monday afternoon.
Three Knights led the scoring with sophomore forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) leading all scorers with her third double-double of the year with a season-best 23 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard
Jalea Abrams (Elmira, N.Y.) tallied 16 points and rookie forward
Jaeda Hall (Saint Albans, N.Y.) notched a career-best 11 points as the Knights used a strong first half to earn a 62-41 victory over the Lions.
With the victory, Queens improved to 7-5 overall and concluded non-conference play with an overall record of 5-5. Matching up against the Lions for the first time since the 2008-09 season the Knights improved their series record to 5-1 in six games over their non-conference foe.
GAME RECAP
Playing their first game since December 21, the Knights showed no signs of rust as they jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead within the first two minutes of the game.
As the Lions got within two, 9-7 at the 7:23 mark, Queens would shutout the home team for the remainder of the stanza as they held the Lions to 0-of-5 from the field and forced six turnovers, while the Knights went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-point lead of 18-7 into the second quarter.
The sophomore duo of Awaka and Abrams would combine for 12 of the 18 points in the first quarter.
With the Lions struggling to generate offense, Awaka would lead the Knights with 11 points in the second quarter as the visitors led by as much as 26 points in the first half to take a 36-13 lead into the second half.
Having limited the Lions to single digits in the two quarters of play, the Lions opened the third stanza on a 6-0 run to cut the Knights' lead down to 17 points, 36-19 by the 7:57 mark.
But Awaka and Abrams would put together a 6-1 run in quick succession as the Knights extended their lead to back 20+ points and never looked back as Queens opened the second half of their schedule on a strong note with a 62-41 non-conference victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Awaka led all scorers with her third double-double of the year with a season-best 23 points on a scorching 9-of-12 shooting clip (75.0%) to go with 10 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks.
- Abrams recorded 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
- Hall notched a career-best 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with six rebounds.
- Rookie point guard Ashley Chio (North Vancouver, Canada) tallied eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Rookie forward Chinyere Ukaegbu (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied three points, and 10 rebounds, and tied a career-best six steals in the victory.
- All seven Knights registered a steal in the victory as Queens totaled 18 steals and converted them into 20 points.
NEXT GAME
Having concluded non-conference play, the Knights turn their attention to East Coast Conference play beginning on Friday, Jan. 10 against D'Youville University Saints. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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