BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University women's basketball team fell to rival St. Francis Brooklyn, 88-63, on Wednesday evening in the 27th annual Battle of Brooklyn at the Pope Physical Education Center.
LIU finished with four scorers in double figures against the Terriers. Sophomore
Brandy Thomas led the team with 14 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore
Ryan Weise registered 13 points and classmate
Kiara Bell contributed 11 points along with seven rebounds and six blocks. Junior
Mia Perkins added 10 points for LIU.
GAME BREAKDOWN
LIU opened the game with a 7-4 advantage using layups from Bell and Thomas along with a triple from Weise. The Terriers made their first run of the game with a 10-0 stretch to take a 14-7 lead at the 4:40 mark in the opening quarter. The Sharks answered with a run of their own later in the quarter with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, led by six points from Perkins to take a 15-14 lead. St. Francis made the final run of the opening quarter with a 6-1 closing stretch for the 20-16 lead.
St. Francis hung on to the slight lead over LIU for the opening minutes of the second quarter before pushing the margin to double-figures with a nine-point run for a 34-21 lead at the 5:41 mark. The Sharks continued to battle as the quarter wore on eventually using a five-point swing on a layup from junior
Jeydah Johnson and three-pointer from Thomas to make it an eight point-game, 42-34 with 1:09 to go in the quarter. The Terriers closed the quarter with back-to-back threes to take a 48-34 lead in to the half.
The Sharks came out of the break strong with an 11-6 start to the third period to cut the Terriers lead to single-digits, 54-45 at the 5:19 mark. Bell lead the way to start the third quarter with four points during that stretch. Momentum quickly shifted back to the Terriers as a 10-2 stretch closed the third period for the 66-49 lead heading in to the final period.
St. Francis outscored LIU, 22-14 in the final quarter to earn the 88-63 win and claim the Battle of Brooklyn title for the fourth straight season.
SHARK BITES
- Thomas tallied double figures in scoring for the 10th time this season and for the fifth straight game.
- Bell also finished in double figures for the third straight game. She also set a new career and season-high with six blocks on defense for the Sharks.
- Weise's 13-point effort was the third time she scored in double figures this season.
- Graduate student Drew Winter posted a game-high four steals.
- The Terriers held the advantage on the glass over the Sharks, 48-29.
- St. Francis Brooklyn rookie Nevena Dimitrijevic was named the game's MVP, finishing the night just shy of a triple double with 14 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds.
- The Terriers now lead the all-time Battle of Brooklyn series, 14-13.
UP NEXT
The Sharks return to the Steinberg Wellness Center this weekend for a two-game homestand. LIU kicks off the weekend with a 2:00 p.m. matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, January 11 in the opening game of a doubleheader with the men's team against the Knights.
