Farmingdale State - 72, Sage - 63
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 72-63 victory over Sage this afternoon. Senior's Nicole Lanteri (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Jeanette Spillane (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) and Camille Romero (Queens, N.Y.) were each honored for senior day before the game. Farmingdale State finished with a 12-0 conference record and earned the top-seeded heading into the playoffs.
Leading 21-16 with 8:36 left to play in the first half, the Rams (17-8, 12-0) used an 8-0 run which saw six points by Marlaina Sherman (Miller Place, N.Y.) to extend their advantage to 29-16. The Gators (18-6, 9-3) answered with eight unanswered points to cut the deficit back to five, 29-24, with 3:24 remaining.
After a Lanteri jumper and Charnae Jenkins (Rockville Centre, NY) 3-pointer, Andrea Desvignes (Deer Park, N.Y.) closed the half with a jump shot to give Farmingdale State a 36-24 halftime lead.
Sage quickly closed within seven after the break, but the Rams responded with a 10-0 run to open up their largest lead of the game, 48-31.
Trailing 52-38 with 13:04 left on the clock, the Gators used a layup by Carlee Hirt (Beacon, N.Y.) and a Krysta Vanacore (Poughquag, N.Y.) 3 to pull within 11, 52-41.
A Lanteri layup with 4:15 remaining gave Farmingdale State a 14-point edge until an 10-2 Sage run over the next 3:05 cut the deficit to 67-61.
The Rams converted 5-of-6 at the free-throw line over the final 34 seconds to seal the victory and earn their 11th consecutive win.
Desvignes finished with a game-high 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Sherman collected a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards to go along with her single-game school record tying six blocks. Lanteri tallied 13 points and junior forward Nailah Cherry (Roosevelt, N.Y.) had 10 points, three blocks and a game-high five steals.
The Gators were led by senior guard Megan Bowman's (Dannemora, N.Y.) double-double of 10 points and 12 assists. Hirt and sophomore forward Krystyn Knockwood (Troy, N.Y.) each recorded a team-high 11 points.
The Rams next will host #4 Mount Saint Mary College in the semifinal round of the Skyline playoffs on Thursday, February 26th at 7:00 p.m. The other semifinal game features #2 Mount Saint Vincent and #3 Sage with the two winners playing in the championship game on Saturday, February 28th at the site of the highest remaining seed.
To view the complete playoff bracket, click HERE.
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