Women’s Basketball Breezes by UDC but Struggles Against Queens College

The Pioneers dominated in their match against the University of the District of Columbia on Feb. 15, finishing the game with a 72-52 win over the Firebirds.

Freshman forward Mikaiya Moore and sophomore forward Sasha Patterson both scored in the double figures with 21 and 17 points, respectively. As a team, the Pioneers gained 22 points off of turnovers.

A layup from senior guard Kylie Garret at the beginning of the second quarter started a 14-4 run by the Pioneers, and they went into the half with a 14- point lead over the rebirds.

“We’ve had the lead the past three games and we’ve come out sluggish in the third quarter, and we had to try and do something different today,” head women’s basketball coach Deirdre Moore said. “We had to come out and play with the same intensity that we played within the first half.”

Moore was referring to her team’s two recent losses against New York Institute of Technology and Roberts Wesleyan College. During the game against NYIT on Feb. 4, the Bears led the Pioneers by four points at the half, and the Pioneers were able to gain a one point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter but ultimately lost the game 59-53.

During their most recent match-up at Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 11, the Pioneers led the home team by 15 points at the half; an 11-2 run by the Redhawks in the fourth quarter led them to a 78-70 win over the Pioneers.

The Pioneers last played UDC on their home court on Jan. 4, and won by one point in overtime 84-83. The Pioneers led the Firebirds by ten points late in the fourth quarter, but a string of turnovers and a buzzer beater by UDC’s Shantel Oliver forced the game into overtime.

During the second half of Wednesday’s game against UDC, the Pioneers seemed to have learned from those last three games, as they never let their lead fall below eight points.

“I thought that we got more control of the game late in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter than we did the last time [against UDC],” Moore said.

The Pioneers returned to the Pratt Recreation Center on Feb. 18 for their last home game against Queens College where they lost 76-56.

The Pioneers were able to hold a small lead for most of the first quarter, but a 7-1 run by the Knights left the home team down by five by the end of the first quarter. The Knights continued to increase their lead for the rest of the game.

“I wish that we had eight defenders because needed two on 11 and two on 12,” Moore said, referring to Queens College’s two best players Madison Rowland and MacKenze Rowland who both finished with 21 and 22 points, respectively.

Moore said her offense struggled the most today, scoring only 56 points but averaging 66 points per game this season.

Freshman Mikaiya Moore led the Pioneers in scoring with 14 points and tallied eight rebounds and sophomore Sasha Patterson finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

Going into this game, the Pioneers were tied with Daemen College for the sixth spot for the playoffs. With their loss against Queens College, and Daemen winning their game against Molloy College on the same day, the Pioneers are now one game behind Daemen for the playoff spot. To make the playoffs they need Daemen to lose at least once, and they have to win their final two games.

The Pioneers will return to action on Feb. 22 when they take on the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Conn. at 5 pm.