Box Score
The Lehman College women's basketball team (10-14 Overall, 8-4 CUNYAC) picked up a huge conference victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bearcats of Baruch College (20-5 Overall, 12-1 CUNYAC) by a score of 65-57 on Senior Day at the APEX Center. With the victory, the Lightning ended Baruch's 25-game regular season CUNYAC winning streak (32 games overall if counting CUNYAC tournament contests).
Prior to the game, the Lehman College athletic department, as well as head coach Eric Harrison and his staff took a few moments to honor six special seniors who have given so much to the women's basketball program at Lehman during their tenures on the team. That group of six included Bethany Rodriguez, Taniefa Taylor, Simone Byrd, Tonisha Kirby, Barbara Febus, and Kelsey Ash. Each senior was be presented with a commemorative plaque on behalf of the Vice President of Student Affairs, Mr. Jose Magdaleno, Lehman College's Director of Athletics, Dr. Martin L. Zwiren, and the entire Lehman College women's basketball family.
The Lightning led the contest by a score of 59-57 with under 40 seconds remaining when Baruch College's Kalea Davis was called for an intentional foul on Lehman College's Leslie Mencia, prompting Bearcats head coach Machli Joseph to vehemently disagree with the call before being whistled for a pair of technical fouls and then getting ejected. The Lghtning would then attempt a total of six free throw attempts - four technical free throws by Barbara Febus and the two original shots by Mencia. Febus connected on three of her four attempts, and Mencia drilled her two, as the Lightning lead ballooned to 64-57, and the Lightning would eventually go on for the huge victory. Following the game, Lehman College head coach Eric Harrison gave his thoughts on the afternoon as a whole.
"Our senior day presentation really fired up our players, and we were able to use the good feelings of the pregame ceremonies to our advantage," Harrison said. "I feel as though we came out to play today, and for the most part, we played a very solid game and came away with a victory. There's no telling what this can do for our confidence when the CUNY tournament starts in eight days. Great victory for us, and we have one conference game remaining against York College on Monday so we'll now prepare for the Cardinals following this terrific win."
In the victory for the Lightning, Mencia led the way with a team-high of 15 points to go along with 14 rebounds in 30 minutes off of the bench, and Tiana Rosa also put forth a hearty effort off of the bench, scoring 11 points and snatching a team-high 15 rebounds while dishing three assists and swatting three shots. Febus finished with 13 pounds, four rebounds, and three steals, and Melissa St. Louis completed her afternoon with 11 points, six assists, and three rebounds.
Despite the loss for the Bearcats, Kalea Davis had a monster game, posting game-highs of 17 points and 19 rebounds while tallying five steals and dishing three assists. Megan Bouwens contributed with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Anika Sierk finished her afternoon with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Both teams connected on 33.8 percent of their shots from the field, as Baruch hit on 22 of their 65 shots, while the Lightning connected on 23 of their 68 attempts. The Lightning won the turnover battle, committing just 13 miscues while forcing 17 Baruch mistakes. Lehman College swatted five shots compared to the Bearcats' two, and Lehman also edged Baruch College in assists, 14-12. The rebounding differential wasn't much, as Baruch College snatched 51 boards while the Lightning pulled down 50.
The Lightning, now 8-4 in conference play, still have a chance at a first round home game in the CUNYAC playoffs. Should the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island turned back the Bulldogs at Brooklyn College tomorrow afternoon, and if Lehman College defeats the Cardinals at York College on Monday afternoon, the Lightning would earn the No. 4 seed in the tournament and play Brooklyn College at the APEX Center on February 21st. Should Brooklyn be victorious tomorrow, the Lightning will be on the road for the quarterfinal round against either the Dolphins or Bulldogs.
