By Johan Abdu
Brooklyn College has done it again. The Bulldogs have won the CUNYAC Women’s Basketball Championship for the second time in a row, with their win against John Jay College at CCNY’s Nat Holman gymnasium on Friday, Feb. 27.
The Bulldogs have adapted to every opponent in front of them this season, with established forward Chanel Jemmott becoming the Bulldogs’ all-time scorer in early February. Brooklyn came into last year’s tournament undefeated under Coach Alex Lang as the regular season champs alongside the men’s team. Lang admitted it “feels great to return to the final” and win another one for the Bulldogs.
Coach Lang, who earned CUNYAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time, wasn’t so quick to analyze past seasons in the days leading up to the final.
“We have built a very good program over the years and in many ways, we haven’t changed much, but this year’s team has a tremendous amount of talent and has battled through adversity all year,” Lang told the Vanguard. “We are very confident in our ability as a team. We have been improving and coming together as the season has progressed. Now is the time for us to step up and play our best basketball.”
The Bulldogs closed out the regular season first in the CUNYAC, winning 12 straight against conference opponents. It wasn’t just Jemmott and Lang nabbing the spotlight. While Jemmott earned CUNYAC Player of the Year, guards Gianna Gotti and Ericka James had highlight seasons to become First Team CUNYAC All-Stars. Junior guard Nancy Pham was called to the CUNYAC Sportsmanship Team.
In the final, Brooklyn opened the scoring from minute one against John Jay, closing the first quarter with a 13-6 advantage. James helped set the pace for Brooklyn in the second quarter and despite a short third-quarter comeback for the Bloodhounds, a collection of sensational threes in the game’s final minutes gave the Bulldogs another trophy to fill their cabinet. Jemmott, Gotti, and James were the top three scorers of the night, collecting 18, 12, and 11 points respectively.
“It’s always great for individuals to receive awards and we are all very proud, but basketball is a team sport, so we are super focused on winning together as a team,” said Lang.
Having secured a second straight CUNYAC title, the Bulldogs set their sights towards the NCAA Div. III National Championship