Women's Basketball Creates Another Second Half Turnaround For A Win

BY Curtis AshleySports WriterOn Wednesday night, the City College Women's basketball team played against Yeshiva University. While neither team truly shot the ball well, the Lady Beavers were more aggressive, and determined to get the win. That determination, mixed with a strong defensive second half, got them the 64-40 win over the Yeshiva Maccabees.The game was played at Baruch College, so neither team was the home or away-team. Yeshiva is a non-conference opponent as well, so the win pushes City to 6-3 overall, but they still remain 2-2 in the CUNYAC. This is the third straight win against Yeshiva in the last three seasons. City has bested Yeshiva by a double-digit margin in each of those wins. Wednesday night's 24-point gap was the largest of the three.Both teams were slow to make their first basket at the start. Just over two minutes in, Tiara Brown would score the first points of the game for City. This would lead to an 11-2 run by the Lady Beavers. They were never able to break away any further after that point. Yeshiva finally got their head in the game and began creating on offense. The first period would end with City holding on to a 15-11 lead.At the beginning of the second period, CCNY looked to build on what they were able to accomplish in the first. Debra Chan got the scoring going first for City, with a shot from beyond the arch to bring the lead to seven. That would be their largest lead of the period, which they achieved twice, until the Macs started their own run. A couple missed shots, turnovers, and bad breaks allowed Yeshiva to not only tie the game, but at one point, take a 26-24 lead over City. Fortunately for CCNY, they were able to get the lead back just before the end of the first half, off a couple of free throws by Briana Rhett. The girls headed into the locker room with a 28-26 lead."I really think it's just a matter of focus. We just weren't ready to play," Head Coach Jaime Angeli said after the game, regarding his team's first half performance. "A real embarrassing first half."Erika Richards led the team in scoring at the half, with 10 points. Liz Durchhalter had five points, including a three-pointer. The team as a whole only shot .375 from the field in the first half. Robin Daley left the game with just under a minute remaining in the first half with an injured ankle.Like the game against St. Joseph's on Monday night, the girls came out like a nearly brand new team. Yeshiva would come out in the third period and take the lead by two points, but beyond that, it was all City basketball. After Yeshiva tied the game at 30, the Lady Beavers would go on a 17-6 run that stretched into the fourth period. While the team still missed some shots here and there, they were able to hold off the Macs for the most part. City maintained their offensive aggression, as well as their defensive oppression, for the remainder of the game. A layup by Marissa Olsen would put City up by 24 points, their largest lead of the night, and solidify their win.The team ended the night having shot .400 from the field. They were steady from the line as well, making 10-of-14 foul shots. Myrriah McIntosh had a double-double, her first of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Erika Richards led the game in scoring, with 12 points. Olsen also ended the night with a double-digit score total, with 10 points.Much of the distribution in scoring was derived from Tiara Brown's technical foul in the third period."I think that got us going. She got out, we got some other people in that really wanted to play," Angeli mentioned. "She has to contain her attitude, the way she talks to officials."City has surpassed their win total from last season, and they're not even half-way through the season. The girls hope to improve their record in two weeks, when they head down to West Palm Beach, Florida to play in the Keiser University Florida Tournament. There, they will face the host college, Keiser University, on Wednesday, December 30th. The team faces Emmanuel College the next day, the last day of the calendar year. It's not the Times Square ball-drop, but a couple of wins would be a great way to bring in the new year.