Box Score
The No. 3 seeded Lehman College Lightning (17-9 Overall, 10-3 CUNYAC) advanced to the semifinal round of the 2009 Con Edison/City University of New York Women's Basketball Tournament by defeating the Hawks of Hunter College (8-18 Overall, 5-8 CUNYAC) by a score of 48-37 Saturday afternoon at the APEX Center in the Bronx. The Lightning have now been in the semifinal round for five consecutive seasons.
Prior to the start of the game, Lehman College Athletic Director, Dr. Martin L. Zwiren, as well as Head Coach Eric Harrison, his assistants, and CUNYAC Executive Athletic Director Zak Ivkovic took a few moments to honor CUNYAC Second Team All-Stars Monique Sampson and Tonisha Kirby as well as three-time CUNYAC Player of the Year, Sally Nnamani. Sampson and Kirby received plaques, while Nnamani was awarded a trophy.
In the victory for Lehman, Nnamani led the way for her squad, scoring a game-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds, six steals, and three blocks. The charismatic Warwick High School product also achieved another milestone as she surpassed 2,000 points for her Lehman career. The sensation now has 2,015 points. Following the game, the 5'11 forward gave her thoughts on the victory.
“This was a big win for us,” Nnamani said. “It was a hard win to get but we were able to stick together and pull it out. We're looking forward to a hard-fought game with Staten Island on Tuesday. It should be fun.”
Also contributing for the Lightning was Sampson as she recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and snatching 10 rebounds while tallying two steals. Sophomore guard Paulie Tuazon also contributed with six points and five rebounds. Head Coach Eric Harrison gave his thoughts on the victory over Hunter.
“It was great to get a win today,” Harrison said. “We played a Hunter team that played very aggressively. They didn't want their season to end today. Despite our struggles, we stayed hungry and picked up key stops towards the end of the game. The important thing is that we pulled through, and now we're looking forward to our match-up with the Dolphins.”
Despite the loss for the Hawks, sophomore guard Megan McKenna scored a team-high 13 points to go along with four rebounds, junior Juanita Whyms netted seven points and snatched 12 rebounds, and junior Andrea Buckham scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
For both teams, scoring points was a struggle. The Lightning shot just 27.9 percent from the field while Hunter College converted on just 24.3 percent of its shots. Both units also had problems converting from the charity stripe, with Lehman College connecting on eight of its 26 shots from the line while the Hawks nailed just 18 of 36 attempts. The Hawks committed 34 turnovers to the Lightning's 20.
The semifinal round of the tournament is set for Tuesday evening at the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York. The No. 1 seeded Baruch College Bearcats will face the No. 4 seeded Brooklyn College Bridges in a 5:30pm contest, while the No. 2 seeded Dolphins of the College of Staten Island will go toe-to-toe with the Lightning at 7:30pm. All Lightning fans are encouraged to make their way down to CCNY to support the team in its quest for a conference championship!
