#6 Farmingdale State - 60, #3 Old Westbury - 59
Old Westbury, N.Y. - In the First Round of the Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Championship this evening, sixth-seeded Farmingdale State traveled to #3 Old Westbury and edged the Panthers, 60-59. The Rams overcame a 17-point second quarter deficit en route to the First Round victory.
Leading 7-6 with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter, OW (20-6) used a 9-1 run capped off by an Alexis Lopez (West Hempstead, N.Y.) 3-pointer to open up a nine-point advantage. The Panthers recorded the first seven points of the second to extend the lead to 25-9 with 8:35 on the clock before a 3 by FSC (10-16) junior guard Nia Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ended the Old Westbury run and pulled the Rams within 13.
With 4:14 left to play in the second quarter and Farmingdale down 33-17, a quick 6-1 run on back-to-back Selena LaFranca (Smithtown, N.Y.) 3's cut the deficit to 11 at 34-23. After a Tori Bellings (Brooklyn, N.Y.) layup on the next Old Westbury possession, FSC closed the half with layups by Alexis Hunter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Kelsey Voiklis (Commack, N.Y.) to go into the break trailing, 36-27.
After a Miller layup pulled the Rams within nine, FSC used a 3-pointer from Jami Cardenas (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and 1-of-2 at the line by Hunter to cut the deficit to 40-35 with 4:49 remaining in the third.
Old Westbury recorded a pair of Bellings free-throws to go up 43-36 with 2:13 on the clock but Farmingdale State answered with two layups by sophomore guard Destiny Hurt (Long Beach, N.Y.) and a 3 from Miller to close within one, 44-43. Each team scored two points over the final 31 seconds of the quarter as the Rams entered the fourth down by one, 46-45.
With less than six minutes remaining, a Charlotte Renker (Mineola, N.Y.) jumper gave OW a six-point lead, 56-50, before an 8-0 FSC run on a pair of Miller 3's and a layup by Hurt put the Rams in front by two with 2:14 on the clock. Old Westbury junior center Davida Warren (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was fouled the next trip down the court and hit both at the line to even the score at 58-58.
Wih 17 seconds left to play and the game still tied 58-58, Hurt converted a layup to give Farmingdale State a two-point edge, 60-58. The Panthers were fouled with three seconds remaining and hit 1-of-2 at the line before a Voiklis defensive rebound on the second attempt sealed the 60-59 First Round victory for FSC.
Miller led the way with a game-high 26 points, while Hurt added 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Hunter tallied six points and secured a game-high 17 rebounds in the win for Farmingdale State.
For Old Westbury, Bellings finished the night with a team-high 15 points, while Renker scored 14 points and had eight boards.
The Rams now advance to the Semifinals and will travel to #2 USMMA on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
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