JERSEY CITY, NJ…The College of Staten Island answered a 10-point first half deficit and a valiant upset attempt by New Jersey City University, behind a game-high 21 points by junior forward Kim Thompson (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) and 19 rebounds from senior forward Jacclyn Rock (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp), to hold on for a 46-43 victory over the Gothic Knights at the John J. Moore Athletic and Fitness Center.
CSI improves to 20-2 overall, by winning its seventh consecutive game, and 20-of-21. NJCU’s two-game winning streak ends with the loss, as the Knights fall to 10-9. NJCU leads the all-time series, 7-4.
After CSI scored first, NJCU used eight straight points to open an 8-2 lead. The Knights margin increased to as many as 10, 20-10, with 1:24 left in the opening period, when McNair picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast. NJCU owned a 20-14 lead at the end of the surprising low-scoring period, especially when one considers that the Dolphins were 13th in the nation in scoring margin (+19.1) and 18th in scoring offense (73.8) entering the affair.
CSI opened the second half on a 7-0 run to gain a 21-20 lead after a three-pointer. The Dolphins continued to own a slim margin, before opening a 36-30 edge with 9:50 to play. An Amadeo three, followed by back-to-back fast-break lay-ups by Cubile and Kabba capped a 7-0 Gothic Knight run, as NJCU regained a 37-36 advantage.
However, a Gordon fast-break lay-up, followed by a Thomson three made it 41-37 CSI at 5:10, and NJCU could never regain control. A three-point play by Amadeo shaved the deficit to one, 41-40, before Thompson answered with a three-point play set-up by her fast-break lay-up at 2:53 to make it 44-40. McNair canned a three with 59 seconds remaining to trim the score to 44-43, but Gordon converted a lay-up with 33 seconds left, and NJCU missed two three-pointers on its final possession, without a clean look on either shot.
Thompson led all scorers with 21 points (9-24) and added 11 rebounds in 37 minutes. Rock, who ranks second in the nation in rebounding at 14.2 per game, had 10 of her game-high 19 in the second half, and added seven assists, six points, and four steals. She shot 2-of-17 from the field.
Senior guard ERIKA CUBILE (Jersey City, NJ/Academy of Saint Aloysius) led NJCU with 11 points in the first half to account for 55 percent of NJCU’s scoring in the period, before finishing with 13 points (5-13).
Junior power forward MEGAN KABBA (Newark, NJ/Arts) added eight points (3-12) and seven rebounds. Sophomore point guard LATRESE McNAIR (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), who entered the game ranked No. 2 in Division III in steals, chipped in eight rebounds (six defensive), seven points, and five steals. She tallied six rebounds, four points and three steals in the first half. McNair moved into second place on the single-season steals list with 93, three shy of the record, by swiping at least five steals in a game for the 12th time in 19 games.
Also for NJCU, junior guard BERNICE AMADEO (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), the Knights’ career leader in assists with 301, added six assists, six points, seven rebounds (six defensive), and three steals. She has 25 assists in her last three games. Freshman center TIFFANY BOYD (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) had five of her career-high six blocks in the first half.
NJCU limited sophomore guard Acasha Gordon (Staten Island, NY/Curtis), who entered the game with 411 points this season, a rate of 19.6 per game, and the No. 15 scorer in Division III, to two first-half points. She finished with 10 points (5-12) in 29 minutes.
Each team shot below 30 percent for the game, with NJCU at .293 (17-58) and CSI shooting .292 (19-65). The Dolphins converted only 20 percent of its first half opportunities (6-30). CSI entered the game as the No. 1 team in the country in rebounding margin with a +12.3 ratio, and owned a 52-38 advantage on the glass. CSI owned margins of 26-16 in the paint, and 18-8 on the fast-break.
NJCU returns to action on Monday, February 7 at 6pm when it hosts Ramapo College in a make-up of a January 22 snow-related postponement.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
