FLUSHING, N.Y. – Returning to Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, the Queens College women's basketball team hosted the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans in East Coast Conference action.
Junior guard
Daja White (Queens, N.Y.) led the Knights with a team-high 18 points, while junior forward
Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, N.Y.) recorded her ECC-leading 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
In a back-and-forth contest, Queens battled back from a slow start and pulled within two points with 3:02 remaining, but timely baskets down the stretch allowed the Spartans to hold on as the Knights fell to the final score of 59-53.
GAME RECAP
Behind Awaka and sophomore forward
Chinyere Ukaegbu (Brooklyn, N.Y.), the Knights opened the game with a 6-2 lead, forcing an early Spartan timeout at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.
STAC responded out of the break, holding Queens to just three points the rest of the quarter while using a 12-2 run to take a 14-9 lead into the second.
Queens traded baskets with the Spartans over the opening three minutes of the second quarter, but STAC pushed its advantage to 22-15 with 6:03 remaining until halftime.
Junior forward
Yinka Kruyswijk (Amsterdam, Netherlands) sparked the offense with five straight points, helping the Knights close the gap to 22-20 by the 4:39 mark.
Cold shooting over the final stretch of the half, however, left Queens trailing 24-21 at the break.
The Spartans opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run to build a 37-24 lead at the 4:41 mark, forcing a Queens timeout.
The Knights answered immediately, ripping off an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back triples from White and a jumper by Awaka to pull within five, 37-32, with 1:52 remaining.
After STAC briefly extended the lead, Queens closed the quarter strong, using a 5-0 spurt capped by White's buzzer-beating triple to trail just 39-37 entering the final period.
STAC opened the fourth quarter by extending its lead to six, 43-37, at the 8:41 mark.
Junior guard
Shellby Mcgill (Bronx, N.Y.) answered with a three-pointer at 7:18 to keep Queens within striking distance. A Spartan's 5-0 run made it 48-40 with 5:26 remaining, but the Knights refused to go away.
White and Ukaegbu combined for a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 48-46, with 3:04 left.
The rally fell short, however, as the Spartans closed the game on a 13-7 run to secure the 59-53 victory.
Post Game Quote:
Head Coach
Travis Ponton: "Unfortunately, there's never a good time to have a down offensive day, and that's what we ended up with today. There were about four areas where we just weren't good enough, and in a close, low-scoring game, that's too much to overcome. We still have half of our conference games left, so we'll continue to work, take it one day at a time, and process everything."
BY THE NUMBERS:
- White finished with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals, and one block to pace the Knights.
- Awaka posted her third straight double-double and 12th of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, tying a career-best five blocks to go along with one assist.
- Her 12 double-doubles tie her single-season high set during her sophomore campaign.
- Ukaegbu contributed eight points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
- While Kruyswijk recorded a season-best seven points on a perfect 3-3 field goal mark with one made triple.
NEXT GAME:
Head coach
Travis Ponton and the Knights travel to Staten Island, N.Y., on Wednesday, January 28, to face the College of Staten Island Dolphins. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 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 Main Account (@QCKnights), Queens College WBB (QCKnightsWBB), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's basketball (qcknightswbb).
