Aiken Sparks Women's Basketball To 54-46 Win Over St. Thomas Aquinas
Box Score
SPARKILL, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2010) – Junior guard Janea Aiken (St. Albans, N.Y.) scored a layup with 1:44 left to play in the second half followed by a three-point field goal to ice over a win for C.W. Post as the Pioneers held off St. Thomas Aquinas for a 54-46 win in East Coast Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.
C.W. Post rebounds from a loss to Molloy earlier this week and improves to 15-4 overall and 10-3 in conference action. The loss ends a two-game win streak for the Spartans as they drop to 9-9 overall and 5-7 in the ECC.
Aiken led the game in scoring with 22 points and also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.
It was a tumultuous game for both teams where the lead changed seven times and the score was tied up six different times.
The Spartans kept the pace through the first 15 minutes of action in the first half with the exception of three game-tying baskets from the Pioneers.
With the score tied at 9-all, freshman guard Bianca Kowgios (Yonkers, N.Y.) hit a jumper at 10:01 that sparked a 7-0 Spartan run and was capped off by a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Sylvia Davis (St. Albans, N.Y.) with 7:35 to play.
The Pioneers were able to stop the bleeding and put a halt to STAC offense as sophomore guard Felicia Joyner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) netted a pair of free throws at 7:06 followed by a layup at 6:29. Senior guard Jasmine Moore (Bronx, N.Y.) nailed down a jumper at 5:51 and the Spartans led by just one (16-15).
STAC broke free with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Natalie Catavero (New Rochelle, N.Y.) at 2:47 but C.W. Post would not relent and tied the game up with a pair of doubles from Aiken. The Pioneers took the lead (22-19) when Moore scored on a layup up with 28 seconds to play and completed the traditional three-point play at the line after a foul was called on Catavero.
The Spartans cut the lead to one at halftime when junior forward Theresa Dowling (Congers, N.Y.) scored on a put-back with one second left on the clock.
C.W. Post's lead did not hold for long in the second half. Sophomore forward Brianna Sloper (Willison Park, N.Y.) hit two from the charity stripe that began a 9-1 spurt and carried the Spartans to a six-point lead (34-28) with 12:58 left in regulation.
The Pioneers made a strong push for to regain the lead and it started when Aiken senior guard Gina Catherall (Bayside, N.Y.) hit back-to-back triples followed by a layup from Moore to give C.W. Post a three-point advantage (41-38).
The Spartans answered with unmatched doubles from Kowgios and Sloper to give STAC a slim 42-41 lead with 5:11 on the clock.
Catherall converted two from the charity stripe return the lead to the Pioneers (43-42) at 4:19. The teams toggled as Sloper knocked in a jumper at 3:46 for STAC before Aiken hit a jumper seconds later and converted a free throw.
Sloper tied the game (46-46) with a layup in the paint at 3:26 but that was all the Spartans could muster as the Pioneers closed the game out on an 8-0 run.
C.W. Post completed the game shooting .340 (18 of 53) from the field and went 13-for-17 at the line. The Pioneers also cleaned up the glass, outrebounding the Spartans, 39-31. St. Thomas Aquinas shot .319 (15 of 47) from the floor and went 13-for-15 at the line.
Catherall finished the game with 13 points, including three treys, and pulled down four rebounds with two assists for the Pioneers.
Sloper led the way for the Spartans with 19 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
C.W. Post returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 3 to host Queens College at 5 p.m. at the Pratt Recreation Center.