Farmingdale State 76, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 70
BROOKLYN | A 20-2 run over the final 3:15 of the second period put the Farmingdale State College women's basketball team in the lead for good Thursday night, as the Rams earned a 76-70, Skyline Conference victory at St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn.
FSC (3-4, 1-2 Skyline) opened the night by scoring 14 of the first 19 points of the game, before St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (2-6, 1-2) battled back to tie the game at 20 with a 3-pointer at the first-period buzzer. The two teams stayed within one possession of each other midway through the second quarter, prior to the Bears using seven-straight points to jump ahead by eight at 32-24 on a put-back layup with 4:00 showing.
That set the stage for the visitors' 20-2 spread heading into halftime, as they took a lead that would not be relinquished. FSC sophomore guard
Victoria Kantzian (Staten Island, N.Y.) checked into the game and started the run with her layup with 3:15 on the clock. In all, Farmingdale State went 7-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line during the spread, with Kantzian going 5-of-5 during the stretch (3-of-3 from long range), to take a 44-34 lead at the break.
The third period saw Farmingdale State take its largest lead of the game at 54-40, when freshman guard
Mia Simmons (Jamaica, N.Y.) knocked down a trey from the left wing. St. Joseph's refused to go away, connecting on 13-consecutive points over the final 2:45, before FSC junior
Jenna Pignataro (Farmingville, N.Y.) stopped the bleeding with a 3-ball before the buzzer to push her team back ahead by two possessions at 57-53.
The Rams remained in the lead throughout the fourth quarter, and were ultimately able to ice the game with 31 seconds to go. FSC collected a pair of offensive rebounds, before Kantzian found freshman forward
Taneece Wooden (Freeport, N.Y.) open on the right wing. The rookie connected on her only 3-point attempt of the night, extending the lead to 74-68 and effectively putting the game out of reach.
Kantzian (6-of-9 FG, 4-of-7 3FG) and Wooden tied for the team-high with 16 points apiece, with Wooden leading all players with 14 rebounds. Senior forward
Layla Mendoza (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) finished two boards shy of a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard
Isabella Greenwald (W. Islip, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with seven points, eight caroms and game-highs of six assists and four steals.
Head coach
Mark Dellecave's Farmingdale State team is back in road Skyline action Tuesday night (Dec. 12), when it travels to Purchase College for a 6 p.m. tip.
