Farmingdale State - 84, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn - 55
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Senior forward Essence Casey (Huntington Station, N.Y.) and senior guard Kaelyn Ward (East Hampton, N.Y.) both set career-highs in points, with 24 and 32 respectively, in a Skyline Conference victory over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn, 84-55, this evening in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Rams improve to 6-7 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.
FSC got going early as they outscored the Bears (5-8, 3-3) 12-2 in the first 3:52 of the contest.
After a 3 by St. Joe's-Brooklyn junior guard Nina DiCioccio (Brooklyn, N.Y.) cut the deficit to seven, an Alexis Antonacci (Plainview, N.Y.) layup brought the Rams advantage back nine, 14-5.
The Rams took a five-point lead heading into the second quarter, 18-13.
Ward opened the quarter with a 3-pointer to bring the FSC advantage to eight, before junior guard Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y.) scored four straight points as the Bears closed within just four points, 21-17, with 7:28 remaining in the half.
Farmingdale State would use a 13-3 run over the next 4:10 to take a 14-point lead, 34-20.
The Bears outscored the Rams 9-2 over the final 3:18 of the half as they trailed the Rams 36-29 heading into the break.
After Porcasi hit a 3 only 29 seconds into the third quarter, the Rams used a 23-2 run over the next 6:52 to open up a commanding 25-point advantage, 59-34.
FSC entered the fourth quarter leading 62-36 and outscored St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 22-19 over the final 10 minutes as they earned the Skyline Conference victory, 84-55.
Casey pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, while Ward tallied a game-high five steals. Freshman guard Khandra Rhoden (Brentwood, N.Y.) added 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting and senior guard Liz Durchhalter (Franklin Square, N.Y.) totaled six points, five rebounds and four steals for the Rams.
For the Bears, freshman guard Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a team-high 18 points, while junior center Caitlyn Staab (Lynnbrook, N.Y.) registered 10 rebounds and eight points.
The Rams next travel to Purchase College for a Skyline Conference game on Saturday, January 6th at noon.
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