BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a race for the final spot of the East Coast Conference postseason tournament, the Queens College women's basketball team matched up against the Saints of D'Youville University inside Saints Center Gym Friday evening.
Sophomore forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) paced the offense with a team-high 13 points, but a slow start in the first half of the game would hurt the Knights as the Saints earned a 78-48 victory and completed the series sweep.
With the loss, the Knights move to 4-7 in conference play and into the seventh spot in the race for a postseason spot.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The first quarter saw five lead changes and two ties with Awaka leading the way with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.
- A conventional three-point play from the sophomore forward would put the Knights up 12-10 at the 5:39 mark before the home side closed the stanza on an 11-0 run to take a 21-12 lead into the second quarter.
- A slow second quarter would hurt the Knights as they were held to 3-of-14 from the field, while the Saints shot 6-of-15 from the field to take a 36-18 lead at halftime.
- The Knights would improve their shooting to 42.9% from the field in the second half compared to the Saints' 40.0% but the slow start to the game would see the Saints complete the sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Awaka's double-double streak concluded at seven as the sophomore recorded 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with eight rebounds.
- Rookie forward Autumn Simon (Bellport, N.Y.) tallied nine points on 4-of-9 shooting to go with two rebounds, two steals and one assist.
- Rookie Arianna Lopez (Newburgh, N.Y.) notched seven points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
- Rookie Sajol Thornhill (Ashburn, VA.) notched six points on 3-of-5 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal.
NEXT GAME
Continuing ECC play, the Knights conclude the road trip in Amherst, N.Y. on Sunday, Feb. 16 against the Wildcats of Daemen University. Tip-off is set for noon.
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