Sage women rack up 5th win in a row as they down NYU-Poly, 70-57
Brooklyn, NY –The Sage Colleges' women's basketball team opened the 2013 half of the season on Monday with the Gators' first contest of 2013. Sage travelled to NYU-Poly for a Skyline Conference contest and posted a 70-57 win, extending Sage's win streak to five straight games. Sage is now 5-5 overall and 2-1 in the league. NYU-Poly drops to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Sage got 18 points from junior guard Erica Houle (Latham, NY/Shaker), while sophomore guard Lea McClain (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) tallied 15 points. Sophomore guard Megan Bowman (Saranac, NY/Saranac) had a game-high 13 assists and four steals, bettering her previous career-best for assists (8) from her rookie season.
The Lady Jays fell behind 10-3 early on, after Lea McClain hit a three. But, NYU-Poly narrowed the lead to 12-8 when freshmen Aisha Abu-Marzouq (Heartfordshire, England) drove the lane, scored, and was fouled. She completed the old-fashioned three-point play. But, each time the Jays got close, Sage's Houle hit a three. She converted three of four attempts in the half.
NYU-Poly got to within one at 16-15 after a Sabrina Fletcher (Bronx, NY) free throw at the 9:10 mark. But, the Lady Jays made several costly turnovers in the final two minutes, resulting in a 19-10 run for Sage. Bowman led the Gators in that critical stretch with three steals and four points.
The teams went into the half with the Gators up 35-25. Abu Marzouq led the Lady Jays with six points, while freshmen Kylie Hall (Olympia, WA) added five.
Sage's lead grew twice to 12 points by the 11:00 mark in the second half thanks to buckets by McClain and a three by junior forward Chelsea Martin (Davenport, NY/Jefferson Central).
But, NYU-Poly closed the lead to five within one minute, when freshmen Alyssa D'Apice (Carmel, NY) scored four straight and was followed by a three point play by sophomore Catherine Thompson (Spackenkill, NY).
However, by the 6:30 mark, Sage had rebuilt a lead, this time to 13 points (60-47) on a three by McClain. NYU-Poly could get no closer than nine in the remaining moments.
The Lady Jays were led by D'Apice's 17, while sophomore Tabitha Larsen (Ramsey, NJ) added 13 points and four steals. Abu Marzouq led Poly with 11 rebounds.
Rookie Sara Tironi (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge Central) added eight points with nine rebounds, while senior forward Laurel Jicha (Hannibal, NY/Hannibal) had a career-best 12 points and eight rebounds after shooting 5-9 from the floor. Houle made 7-of-13 field goals for the Gators, including three treys to pace Sage.
The Gators will be back in action January 9 when they visit Farmingdale State for a 6 p.m. for a Skyline Conference game.