Women’s Basketball Pummels Abington Before Falling To Top 10-Ranked Smith
By Oscar Docavo
Brooklyn College’s women’s basketball team scored a season-high points tally in an 85-74 victory against Penn State-Abington on Wednesday, Dec. 6, inside of the West Quad gymnasium.
“I think we’re starting to trust our teammates a little bit more and just get familiar with our offense and the style of play,” said Head Coach Megan Campbell, highlighting the team’s growing chemistry. With five different Bulldogs scoring double figures in points, the team is looking to build off of the victory.
The game was even until halfway through the first quarter. As seniors Ericka and Sarah James started to get comfortable, Brooklyn went on a 9-2 run that set the tone for the rest of the game.
The second quarter was the Bulldog show as Brooklyn got a lot of work from guards, sophomore Dior Dorsey and junior Alina Estrella. Dorsey scored eight of her 13 points in the second quarter. The sophomore is emerging as a key contributor to this Bulldog team. Junior Mary Dolgin and senior Ayomide Adeoye made their presence felt on both ends of the court. The two forwards scored on and blocked the Lions’ panicking players.
Though Abington outscored Brooklyn 18-15 in the third quarter, the Bulldogs maintained a 15-point lead. Abington never truly had a chance to catch Brooklyn. Seemingly, every Bulldog had a good night. Brooklyn’s bench outscored Abington’s 24-2. Brooklyn also outshot their opponents 50.8% to the Lions’ 35.7%.
Sarah James scored a season-high 13 points, as well as two steals and six rebounds. Her sister, Ericka, was everywhere for the Bulldogs during the game, playing a team-high 40 minutes. Ericka also scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to boot.
Quarterbacking a great deal of the Bulldogs’ amazing play was first-year player sensation Estrella. Estrella led the team in scoring and assists with 16 and 11 respectively. Coach Campbell has asked a lot of Estrella this season, and she has answered. “She’s really stepped into the role and embraced it and is really succeeding. She’s doing a great job for us,” Coach Campbell said.
The Bulldogs’ sternest test of the season thus far came on Saturday, Dec. 9. Brooklyn welcomed Smith College to the West Quad Building for a meeting they knew would be a challenge, which resulted in the Pioneers winning 73-46.
Smith College came into the game as the tenth-ranked team in all of Division III basketball. The Bulldogs started off extremely strong, giving fans hope when they took a 6-4 lead in less than five minutes. However, it was rough sailing from there on out as Smith College showed why they are ranked as a top 10 team in the nation. At halftime, Smith College had a 41-22 lead over Brooklyn. Eventually, Brooklyn started to claw their way back into the game. At one point, Brooklyn cut the score back to 60-43. Just as it seemed like there might be a comeback, the Pioneers pulled away and won the game.
Dorsey led the team in scoring with 10 points. The sophomore guard is earning the new minutes she has been receiving.
Men’s Basketball Team Falls 1-10
By Sean Markisic
The Bulldogs went out on the road and took on New York University on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Bulldogs took yet another loss this season, this time losing 111-66.
The Bulldogs were 25-53 from the field for the game and only had three players score in double figures. Meanwhile, NYU went 42-79 from the field and had multiple players contribute to the winning effort. NYU scored eight quick points and had a commanding 31-12 halfway through the first half. The Bulldogs trailed at the end of the first half 59-31. From there, the second half wasn’t much kinder to the team as they gave up a 10 -1 run and then went on to trail by 50 midway through the second half. The Bulldogs chipped away at the lead and ultimately ended up losing by 45 points.
Aaron Davis was a standout performer for the Bulldogs that night, scoring