Box Score
Staten Island, NY
(Nov. 15, 2011) – Women's basketball had Tuesday night's opener in hand, but couldn't seal the tough road matchup at the College of Staten Island. A late rally by CSI produced a 46-44 victory for the hosts.
The Dolphins got off to a winning start, using an unprecedented comeback to ward off Purchase in the season opener for both teams at the Sports & Recreation Center.
The win brings the Dolphins to 1-0 on the season and 5-0 all-time against the Panthers, while Purchase slipped to 0-1. Despite the fact that CSI had to rally, it was the home side that got off to the early lead, staking themselves to an 8-2 margin after 3:12, sparked by a 3-pointer and follow-up layup by freshman Nikki Fabozzi.
However, the lead was short-lived, as Purchase used a
Rachel Perrone (SO/Poughquag, NY) layup to post an 8-0 run to take a 10-8 lead.
CSI's final lead of the frame was at 13-12 on a three-ball by Nicole Quattrocchi, and from there, Purchase started to take control. As CSI shot a dismal 2 for 17 with a hefty 10 turnovers over an 11:18 stretch, Purchase assumed a 28-19 lead at halftime, driven by
Rachel Perrone's 13 points and nine rebounds.
Another three by Fabozzi in the early stages of the second stanza cut the lead to single digits, but
Jessica Perrone (SO/Poughquag, NY) connected on two free-throws to put Purchase up 32-22, starting an 8-0 run that gave the Panthers their biggest lead, 38-22, with 13:08 remaining.
From there, CSI took its time chipping away at the lead.
Five straight points by Rachel Rosado cut the Purchase lead to 38-33 with 8:31 to go, and after three free-throws by
Alyssa Guido (SR/Cliffside Park, NJ), CSI answered again later with two straight baskets by Katelyn Hepworth to help cut the lead to a single possession, 43-40, with 4:32 to go.
Hepworth would foul out shortly after, and
Jessica Perrone would make one free-throw at 4:12 to give the visitors a 44-40 advantage.
CSI couldn't take advantage of Purchase fouls as Fabozzi missed two front-ends of one-and-ones, but an offensive rebound by Rosado and feed to Jennifer Coughlan led to a basket to cut the lead to 44-42 with 3:09 to play.
Rosado then shined again, forcing a turnover and converting a jumper with 2:02 to go to tie the game. The teams then traded misses and a Coughlan rebound led to a trip down the floor for the Dolphins with fewer than 40 ticks to play.
Working their half-court offense Fabozzi found Rosado with a small window of room and the second-half hero calmly sank another jumper to give CSI the 46-44 edge with 34 seconds left.
Offensively, the Panthers were led by the twin sisters in defeat.
Rachel Perrone netted 17 and Jessica added 14 in the loss.
Purchase will now look to get back on track this weekend in an early season tournament at Ramapo.
-CSI Sports Information Contributed to this report
