Farmingdale State - 59, St. Joseph's - 55
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team outscored St. Joseph's (7-6, 2-3) by 12 points in the second half to overcome an eight point halftime deficit and take a 59-55 conference victory tonight in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Rams (5-5, 4-0) were led by senior forward Natasha Smalls (Harlem, N.Y.) who finished with a team high 19 points after hitting 11-of-13 free throws.
The Golden Eagles led 29-21 after the first half and pushed the lead up to 13 to hold a 34-21 lead with 17 minutes left to play, before Farmingdale scored an unanswered 12 points over the next three minutes to make it 34-33 with 14:03 to go.
St. Joe's increased the lead to 40-33 at the 10-minute mark and held the lead up until a six point spurt from Smalls tied the game at 46-46 with 4:25 showing on the clock. Senior guard Kayla Koch (Kings Park, N.Y.) then sank a three as the Rams to the final lead of the game 49-46 and would hold on for the Skyline win.
Smalls totaled 19 points and 12 rebounds for the game, while senior forward Dominique Cunningham (Amityville, N.Y.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Koch finished with 13 points and junior guard Nikita Green (Roosevelt, N.Y.).
For the Golden Eagles, junior forward Amanda Bender (East Northport, N.Y.) led with 17 points, including three from long range, while sophomore guard Christina Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y.) scored 13 points and also hit a team-high three from beyond the arc.
The Rams will host the #1 team in the Nation, Amherst College, tomorrow night, January 11th at 6:00 p.m.
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