ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2015) - The Molloy College women's basketball team made early waves on Friday (Nov. 13) as the Lions knocked off the eighth-ranked team in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball East Region Poll in upsetting Bloomfield by a 68-60 margin. The early-season signature win provides a lot of momentum for the Lions, who will now take on Wilmington University to conclude the ECC/CACC Challenge on Saturday (Nov. 14) at 6 p.m.
The Lowdown on the Lions:Molloy adjusted well to the new four-quarter rule across women's basketball, leading Bloomfield by two points after ten minutes and staying within one heading into the fourth quarter. That's when the Lions took over, hitting 12 field goals in 21 attempts and going 12-for-17 from the free-throw line in the final frame of action to knock off Bloomfield. Three seniors---
Ally Leftridge (Melville, N.Y.),
Alexia O'Connor (Centerport, N.Y.) and
Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) combined to score 58 points in the victory with Leftridge sporting a game-high 23. The Lions also blistered their opponents from deep, setting a new single-game record with a 71% (10-14) efficiency from beyond the three-point line.
There are, however, areas of concern for Molloy heading into Saturday's battle with the Wildcats of Wilmington. The maroon and white did lose the turnover battle (22-14) and only scored a total of six bench points, coming from juniors
Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I.) and
Brianna Perlmutter (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Bloomfield, meanwhile, collected 23 points off of Molloy's turnovers and had 16 bench points in the losing effort.
What's Up, Wildcats?Utilizing a defensive lockdown in the third quarter to outscore their opponents by an 18-6 margin, Wilmington defended home court and ran away with a 73-55 win against Mercy College on Friday night. The first half was knotted at 29 despite some lower percentages of field goal shooting on both sides as Wilmington shot 34% (12-35) from the field while Mercy was held to just nine field goals in 31 attempts (29%). The Wildcats shot better in the second half of action, making 43% (17-40) of their field goals and held Mercy without a three-pointer as the Mavs missed all 10 tries from deep in the second half. Turnovers also played a major factor in the contest as Mercy was minus-10 in the turnover battle, committing 31 giveaways to the Wildcats' 21.
Sophomore guard Emma Matthews (Smyrna, Del.) had a game-high 17 points in 29 minutes off the bench for Wilmington and red-shirt sophomore guard Zameria Jones (Joppa, Md.) added 16 points off the bench. The two players' combined effort of 33 points nearly equaled the play of the starters for the hosts, who combined to score 36 points in the win.
The Match-Up HistoryWilmington University is still a relative newcomer to the NCAA, having joined the organization before the start of the 2004-05 women's basketball season. In that time, the Wildcats have not had good experiences with Molloy as the Lions are 3-0 all-time against their opponents on Saturday. The first tussle came on Dec. 8, 2008 with the Lions decimating Wilmington, 75-49. The next year, the teams played again with a victory for the maroon and white but a much tighter 75-70 contest at Quealy Gymnasium on Nov. 17. The most recent matchup came on Nov. 11, 2012 at the UB Women's Basketball Classic in Bridgeport, Conn. Then-freshman and now senior guard
Alex Hampton (Baldwin, N.Y.) had a brilliant game with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists as Molloy routed the Wildcats by a 90-72 score. That was the only previous meeting between Wilmington and Molloy with Head Coach Tiffany Silver on the sidelines for the Wildcats.
