Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score

Given three choices as to who the deciding factor might be if Baruch were to emerge victorious in Saturday's City University of New York Athletic Conference/Con Edison Women's Basketball Championship game, few would have mentioned the name Trista Thomas.

That's because the Bearcats, 13-0 in CUNYAC play this season, boasted a lineup that included Player of the Year Monique Salmon as well as All-Stars Megan Bouwens and Folashade Akinde.

But when the final horn sounded on Baruch's 87-60 title-clinching win over the Lightning on the campus of the City College of New York, it was the senior from Brooklyn who averaged just over two points per game on the season that stole the show at arguably the game's most crucial point.

Having entered the game with 12:20 remaining, Thomas began her singlehanded takedown of the Lightning with the Bearcats leading 55-46. First she drove left baseline, pulled up from 10 feet and dropped in a jumper. Thomas, fouled on the play by Maquasia Campbell, knocked down the ensuing free throw to bump the Baruch lead back to double digits.

Then she knocked away a pass by Paula Robinson intended for Louvinia Hayes, controlled the loose ball and dribbled straight to the basket for a layup and 60-46 lead. On the Bearcats next possession, Thomas drained a three-pointer to further increase the margin to 17.

Following a three-pointer by teammate Karyn Purcell that left the Lightning trailing by 20, Thomas capped her personal 11-point barrage by rattling home another three-pointer as the Bearcats lead ballooned to 69-46. The second of Thomas' three-pointers, which matched her total for the entire 2010-11 season, forced a Lehman timeout.

The importance of Thomas outburst could not be understated as it came with Lehman on the doorstep of getting back in the game.

Down double digits for much of the first half due to the inside-outside combination of Bowens (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Washington (14 points, 4-7 3pt. FGs), the Lightning made a push over the half's final three minutes. Trailing 42-25 after two Salmon free throws, Hayes started the comeback when she picked up five points on one of the strangest plays a basketball fan might see.

On a pass into the right corner from Amanda De La Cruz, she drilled a three-pointer. Immediately following the shot, Baruch's Bouwens was called for a loose ball foul, sending Hayes to the line for a one-and-one where she calmly knocked down both freebies.

De La Cruz further cut into the Lightning's deficit with a running banker in the lane to pull Lehman within 42-32. After a missed three-pointer by Purcell, De La Cruz burst ahead of the pack and found Hayes spotting up behind the three-point line in the left corner. Her jumper from deep found the bottom of the net and when Salmon missed a runner at the buzzer to end the first half, the Lightning bounded off the court down only seven.

Immediately out of the intermission, Baruch's Akinde converted on a traditional three-point play to get the lead back to 10. Behind 53-46, Lehman had a chance to draw as close as five, but Taniefa Taylor could not convert a gorgeous feed underneath from De La Cruz. Thomas' game-changing run followed shortly thereafter to put the game away.

Baruch's win marks the fourth consecutive title for the Manhattan school. Bouwens, a CUNYAC First Team All-Star selection, earned tournament MVP honors with her line of 24 points and 23 rebounds, the latter a CUNYAC tournament record. Washington finished with 22 points (6-of-10 on three-pointers) while Thomas notched 13 overall.

For the Lightning, who now will look towards an ECAC bid, De La Cruz led all scorers with 26 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds. Lehman's senior Hayes ended her one-year stint in the CUNYAC with 20 points on 6-for-21 shooting. Both were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts.  Jaleesa Gordon, the other member of Lehman's “Big Three,” finished with two points and six rebounds. Overall, the Lightning shot 29 percent from the field.

“Baruch played a good game,” said Harrison. “But we played from behind too much. We just didn't have that energy that we had the past two games.”