Box Score
The No. 6 seeded Lightning of Lehman College (11-15 Overall, 8-5 CUNYAC) played one of their best games of the season, turning back the Southern Division champion and number three seeded Bulldogs of Brooklyn College (16-10 Overall, 9-4 CUNYAC) by a score of 73-56 Sunday afternoon at the West Quad Gymnasium in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 CUNYAC/Con Edison Women's Basketball Championship. With the victory, the Lightning will advance to take on the Hawks of Hunter College in the semifinal round of the tournament on Wednesday evening at CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium at 7:45pm, while the Bulldogs will await a possible berth in the 2010 ECAC Metro NY/NJ Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Things looked bleak for the Lightning early on, as Brooklyn College raced out to an early 12 point advantage – taking a 14-2 lead just 4:37 into the game. From that moment on, however, it was all Lehman College. The Lightning used a 17-4 run over the ensuing 5:25 to grab a 19-18 lead. That lead then ballooned to nine points as the Lightning outscored Brooklyn 8-1 over the next 2:30 to take a 27-18 lead. Many times the Bulldogs would draw close, but the Lightning would maintain their advantage for the remainder of the half, eventually taking a 37-33 lead into the locker room as the first half came to a close.
In the second half of action, neither team was able to score a point for the first 2:23 of the second session, until Lehman's Melissa St. Louis finally netted a basket to give Lehman a 39-33 lead. An 8-2 Brooklyn run over the next 3:55 saw the Bulldogs tie the game at 41, but the Lightning would dominate the game after that, outscoring the Bulldogs 32-16 the rest of the way to take the game and advance.
Leading the way for Lehman College in the victory was standout Leslie Mencia. The junior – playing in just her 13th contest for the Lightning – put forth a stellar effort as she led all scorers with a game-high 16 points (8-16 FG) to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals all in 37 minutes of action. Veteran Kelsey Ash came into the game knowing it could be her final contest in a Lehman uniform – and she played determined to make sure that wasn't the case as she drained three triples and finished the afternoon with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. St. Louis showed her versatility as well, netting 10 points, snatching 10 rebounds, and dishing four assists, and Simone Byrd had one of her best games of the year, connecting on all four of her shots from the field and finishing with nine points and four rebounds for the day. Following the game, head coach Eric Harrison praised his team's intensity and aggressiveness.
“We came out today like a team that had something to prove and I feel as though we did that this afternoon,” Harrison said. “This was a great team effort, and I think these ladies were fired up to play the Bulldogs after we dropped that tough game to them during the regular season. Everyone contributed today and I'm extremely proud of the effort that we put together. We'll enjoy this one for the moment and then we'll look towards Hunter College on Wednesday evening.”
Everything seemed to be falling for the Lightning, as Lehman College connected on 51.9 percent of their attempts for the game (28-54) while also making good on 61.1 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (11-18). The Lightning defense was able to hold Brooklyn College to 31.3 percent shooting from the field (20-64). Lehman out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-36, but Brooklyn won the turnover battle, committing 18 miscues while forcing 23 Lightning mistakes.
Despite the loss for Brooklyn College, it was Frances Lyons leading the way for her club, scoring 14 points (3-8 FG, 8-8 FT) while snatching seven rebounds in 25 minutes. Ariel Smith contributed as well with 13 points, six steals, and five assists, and Justine O'Callahan added 12 points and five rebounds. Standout Priscilla Ramirez struggled throughout the day as she netted just five points while connecting on just two of their 13 shot attempts and turning the ball over three times in 32 minutes of action.
The Lightning are now one victory away from reaching the CUNYAC championship game for the fourth consecutive season, and standing in their way will be the No. 2 seeded Hunter College Hawks who defeated the Beavers of the City College of New York 57-55 in another quarterfinal round contest that took place on Sunday afternoon. Lehman College and Hunter College split their regular season series during the 2009-2010 season, with the Lightning turning back the Hawks at the APEX Center by a score of 74-72 in overtime back on January 8th and Hunter College claiming victory over Lehman at the Hunter Sportsplex by a score of 67-51 back on February 5th.
