ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Dec. 18, 2015) – The Molloy College women's basketball team begins a three-game swing with non-conference opponents on Saturday (Dec. 19) as the Lions close out the 2015 calendar year. The maroon and white will spend the upcoming weekend in Albany as one of four teams taking part in the Saint Rose Holiday Classic, first taking on the hosts Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Lowdown on the LionsMolloy College currently holds a 2-6 overall record following a 70-65 loss on Wednesday (Dec. 16) at UDC in Washington. Senior guard
Alexia O'Connor (Centerport, N.Y.) was 6-for-8 from three-point territory and had a team-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Junior forward
Brianna Perlmutter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) collected her first career double-double as a Lion with 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Fourth Quarter FolliesThough the Lions ended the fourth quarter shooting 44% (7-16) from the field against UDC, the period did not start out all that terrific for the Lions. Molloy missed five of its first six field goal attempts and watched the Firebirds get out to a 12-5 run opening the final quarter of play. The maroon and white went into the fourth quarter up by two points at 46-44, but thanks to the 12-5 spurt by the opposition the game was pretty much in hand.
Play the Perl!Perlmutter's double-double against UDC came in a season-high 22 minutes of action, compared to last Saturday (Dec. 12) when she played just five minutes versus Saint Thomas Aquinas. Being one of the taller players on the team allows the Brooklynite to get some quality moments on the court despite not being in the starting lineup. If she were to continue putting up double-doubles for Molloy, though, there is a good chance she could crack the starting lineup soon.
Golden Knights' TaleSaint Rose has had an interesting start to its 2015-16 campaign. After splitting its first four contests, the Golden Knights built up a three-game winning streak with victories over New Haven, Pace and Le Moyne. But since then, it's been two straight losses for the black and gold, with the most recent defeat coming to Adelphi on Dec. 12 in a 63-50 loss at Nolan Gymnasium. The bizarre opening portion of the season featured the Golden Knights in six straight Northeast-10 games, and the contest with Molloy is the second of a four-game home-stand to conclude the 2015 calendar year. Against the Panthers last Saturday, sophomore guard Britani Stowe (Port Washington, Md.) had a team-high 11 points but the Golden Knights were just 2-for-14 from three-point range in the loss.
Excitement Leads to No. 200Saint Rose Head Coach Karen Haag won her 200
th game this season in dramatic fashion, as the Golden Knights topped Le Moyne on Dec. 2. Junior forward Staci Barrett (Elmont, N.Y.) hit a last-second game-winning lay-up to capture a 52-51 win over the Dolphins in Syracuse for the Golden Knights' third win in Northeast-10 play this season. Barrett is currently one of three Saint Rose players in double-figure point averages, along with senior Keyontae Williams (Fredricksburg, Va.) and junior Taylor Nazon (Chicago, Ill.).
NYCAC MemoriesThe last time that Saint Rose and Molloy met in a women's basketball contest was Feb. 23, 2000 when the Golden Knights trounced the Lions in Albany, 81-36. That 1999-2000 season holds many significant points of emphasis for Saint Rose. It was the final year that the team played in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference, which was the forerunner to the current East Coast Conference, as the Golden Knights moved to the Northeast-10 the following season. Likewise, the team from Albany finished the season 34-1 and was at one point the No. 1 team in the country under the direction of former head coach Curt Bailey. Saint Rose went all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight, falling in Pine Bluff, Ark. by a
60-50 score to eventual national champions (and current members of the Division I Horizon League) Northern Kentucky.
The '99-'00 season was Bailey's last with Saint Rose, as current head coach Karen Haag began her 15-year stint with the Golden Knights the next November.
