Old Westbury - 70, Farmingdale State - 57
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's basketball team welcomed Skyline opponent Old Westbury to the Nold Hall Athletic Complex this afternoon and lost, 70-57. The Rams dropped to 5-7 in the conference, while the Panthers improved to 7-4.
OW (14-4) started quickly as they jumped out to a 14-2 lead just 5:50 into the game. FSC (5-14) responded with a 3-pointer from senior guard Selena LaFranca (Smithtown, N.Y.) and a Destiny Hurt (Long Beach, N.Y.) layup to cut the deficit to seven. After Old Westbury recorded a layup, Farmingdale State junior guard Nia Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and LaFranca tallied back-to-back 3's at the end of the quarter to close within three, 16-13.
Trailing by six, 27-21, with 5:14 left in the second quarter, the Rams used a free-throw from sophomore forward Alexis Hunter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a 3 by Miller to cut the deficit to two. The Panthers increased their lead to five, 35-30, with 44 seconds remaining in the half, but a pair of free-throws from Hurt and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from freshman guard Stacy Papantoniou (Whitestone, N.Y.) allowed FSC to knot the game at 35-35 heading into the break.
Miller recorded 10 first-half points, while Old Westbury senior center Charlotte Renker (Mineola, NY) had 17 points and 15 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Over the first 3:29 of the third quarter, OW went on a 10-3 run to open up a 45-38 advantage. On the next two Rams possessions, Miller and Hurt each tallied a layup to cut the deficit to three. Panthers senior forward Monique Joseph (Elmont, N.Y.) would quickly answer with a pair of baskets to regain the seven-point edge. Old Westbury outscored Farmingdale State 9-8 over the final five minutes of the quarter to take a 58-50 advantage into the fourth.
OW opened the fourth quarter with three straight layups to go in front, 64-50. On the Rams next trip down the court, Papantoniou knocked down a three to cut the Panthers advantage to 11.
Old Westbury would hold FSC to just four points in the final 6:46 as they went on for the conference victory, 70-57.
Hurt finished with team-highs in points (17), rebounds (8) and steals (7), while Miller produced 14 points and four assists. LaFranca tallied a trio of 3's for nine points and Hunter recorded eight points, five rebounds and two blocks in the loss.
Renker led the way for the Panthers with a game-high 21 points and 23 rebounds. Junior center Davida Warren (Brooklyn, N.Y.) registered 17 points and 17 rebounds, while Joseph tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
The Rams next will travel to Sarah Lawrence for a Skyline matchup on Thursday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.
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