FLUSHING, N.Y. – Wrapping up the 2025 Knights Thanksgiving Invitational, the Queens College women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Saint Anselm College Hawks Sunday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Three Knights scored in double figures, led by junior forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.), who posted her fifth consecutive double-double with a team-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Junior
Daja White (Queens, N.Y.) and rookie
Enise Hodzic (Queens, N.Y.) added 12 points apiece, combining for 24. In a game featuring four ties and six lead changes, a Saint Anselm three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining proved decisive, as Queens fell in a hard-fought 71–68 defeat.
GAME RECAP
Saint Anselm opened the contest on a 10–2 run by the 5:27 mark, but a layup from sophomore forward
Chinyere Ukaegbu (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ignited an 11–5 Queens surge over the final 4:39 of the quarter, trimming the deficit to 15–13 heading into the second.
Carrying their momentum forward, senior
Chyna Bryant (Bronx, N.Y.) and Hodzic combined for five quick points to give the Knights an 18–15 lead at the 8:48 mark.
The second quarter featured three lead changes and two ties as both teams traded baskets. With Queens trailing 21–20, White's layup at the 3:47 mark sparked an 11–6 run, sending the Knights into halftime up 31–27. Queens limited the Hawks to just 26.7% shooting in the second quarter, while Bryant led the Knights with six points on 3-of-5 attempts.
Looking to extend their lead in the third, Awaka took over with a personal 8–0 run from the 9:42 to the 7:58 mark, pushing Queens ahead 39–27, their largest lead of the game.
The Hawks responded with a 15–4 run to pull within one, 43–42, by the 4:31 mark. The teams continued to exchange baskets down the stretch, and the Knights entered the fourth quarter holding a slim 51–50 advantage.
The final period was a back-and-forth battle, featuring seven lead changes and two ties. After the Hawks opened with a three-pointer, Ukaegbu and Hodzic answered with a layup and triple to regain a 56–53 lead at the 7:31 mark.
With Queens trailing 59–58 at the 4:44 mark, White and Awaka combined for eight straight points to give the Knights a 66–63 cushion with 1:35 remaining.
The Hawks tied the game at 66–66, but Hodzic delivered a clutch layup to put Queens back on top, 68–66, with 44 seconds to go.
Despite battling back from an early deficit, Queens couldn't withstand the Hawks' late three-point surge, with Saint Anselm's sixth second-half triple serving as the decisive blow to put the visitors ahead 69–68.
With a chance to steal the game in the final seconds, the young Knights came up just short. Two turnovers and a potential game-tying three-pointer to force overtime missed the mark, as Queens fell in a heartbreaking 71–68 decision Sunday afternoon.
Post Game Quote:
Head Coach
Travis Ponton: "This was one of those games where the result isn't what you want, but there are a lot of positives on the stat sheet and on the film that will pay dividends come February. Our girls really stepped up today and showed what we're capable of as a team. Saint Anselm is a really good ball club, they're undefeated for a reason, but we matched them step for step, led for a good portion of the game, and had chances to win at the end. That's something we can build on. We grew this weekend, and now our focus shifts to conference play as we head to Buffalo to start December."
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Awaka continued her dominant stretch, posting her fifth straight double-double with a season-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds, three blocks, one steal, and one assist.
- In a strong all-around performance, White added 12 points, a season-best six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
- Hodzic chipped in 12 points, a career-high seven assists, and three rebounds.
- Bryant contributed eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks, one steal, and one assist.
- Ukaegbu finished with eight points, four rebounds, one block, one assist, and one steal.
NEXT GAME:
Head coach
Travis Ponton and the Knights open East Coast Conference play in Western New York on Friday, December 5, traveling to Amherst to take on the defending ECC champion Daemen University Wildcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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