Women’s Basketball loses steam against Brooklyn College in CUNYAC opener

 BY Christian HernandezContributor  Going into the CUNYAC opener with a 2-0 record, City College faced off against the 2-2 Brooklyn College Bulldogs Tuesday night and despite starting the season strong, the CCNY’s Women’s Basketball team wasn’t able to extend their two-game winning streak against the Bulldogs, falling 56-45.Both CCNY and BC started the first quarter strong. This aggressive start led to very little being seen offensively from either side. Instead the defensive presence of both teams were highlighted on the court as very few shots were left uncontested. It was clear that the players were fired up, the coaches were fired up, and the crowd was fired up.Both teams were neck and neck until the end of the first quarter, with CCNY scoring in the final 10 seconds, leading 8-7.Towards the end of the first half CCNY showed signs of slowing down. Ironically, it was CCNY’s aggressive play style which led to them losing their lead. By the end of the half CCNY had fouled BC a total of 11 times, allowing for BC to score 10 points from the line alone.Though CCNY and BC had a tough time connecting with their shots, it was CCNY who eventually lost their presence within the paint, both offensively and this time defensively. Brooklyn College’s 6'4" center Maya Ajee-Thomas posed a big threat under the rim and played a role in CCNY losing their defensive presence.By the end of the second quarter CCNY’s once-one-point lead had become a five-point deficit, ending the first half 26-21.The third quarter was no better for CCNY, but City wasn’t going out without a fight. CCNY’s Erika Richards was starting to heat up, finding holes within Brooklyn's defense as she made her way to the basket on numerous occasions. She would appear to be the go-to scorer for CCNY for the rest of the game. At this point, the five-point deficit that had started the quarter would become a game-high 13-point deficit against CCNY.The third quarter ended with CCNY playing catch-up, 40-32.The fourth quarter kept everyone on their feet as CCNY slowly caught up to BC.  Richards and Tiara Brown led the drive to tie the game with four minutes left to the final quarter. Unfortunately, CCNY lost steam once again, allowing BC to score 20 from the line by the end of the game.CCNY head coach Jamie Angeli was disappointed with the loss. “We have to adjust,” he said. “We have to get better defensively. We have to stop people without fouling. I think we’re quick enough and we work hard enough, we just have to work smarter.” Despite the loss, Angeli and the Lady Beavers remain positive, believing that this loss doesn’t define them or the rest of their season.City senior point guard Taylor Pompilio, made her long awaited return after tearing her ACL at Lehman College last January. She mentioned that although the loss was hard, the team remained positive, stating “we know what we need to work on and we’re coming for blood with these next games. We’re not planning on losing anymore after this one.”CCNY (2-1) will be traveling to face off against the Bard College Raptors (2-3), on December 2^nd at 6 p.m.