Farmingdale State - 62, New Jersey City University - 52
Danbury, Conn. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team trailed 47-46 with 5:34 remaining but closed the game on a 16-5 run to earn a 62-52 victory over New Jersey City University in the opening round of the Hat City Classic hosted by Western Connecticut.
Trailing 28-24 at the start of the second half, Farmingdale State (4-5) used a Nicole Lanteri (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) layup and back-to-back scores from Andrea Desvignes (Deer Park, N.Y.) to take a two point lead, 30-28.
After the Gothic Knights (5-5) tied the game at 30-30, the Rams answered with eight straight points to open up a 38-30 advantage with 13:58 remaining. NJCU responded with a 13-3 run over the next 5:25 to retake the lead, 43-41.
Farmingdale State was one point behind with 5:34 left to play and used their 16-5 game clinching run to earn the 62-52 opening round victory.
Desvignes recorded a game-high 22 points, while Lanteri pitched in with a season-high 20 points and added seven rebounds and seven assists. Junior forward Marlaina Sherman (Miller Place, N.Y.) scored 12 points and had eight boards for the Rams.
The Gothic Knights were led by sophomore forward Bria Smith (Bayonne, N.J.) who recorded a double-double with 16 rebounds and 12 points.
Farmingdale State next will face host school Western Connecticut in the championship game on Saturday, January 3rd at 4:00 p.m.
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