Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 16, 2016) – It was another brilliant performance from senior forward Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) in a 66-51 victory for the Molloy College women's basketball team on Saturday (Jan. 16) over Dowling College at Quealy Gymnasium. Jackson, two nights removed from a career-high 29 points in a win against Bridgeport, led all scorers with 19 points on a 6-for-9 shooting performance from the field versus the Golden Lions. The Lions
Both teams started the first half red-hot from the field, as Dowling hit its first three shots while Molloy went 3-for-4 (75%) in the game's first two minutes. The maroon and white took a 10-8 lead on a jumper by Jackson with 6:07 to play in the opening quarter, and the Lions ended the opening frame on a 13-4 run to open up a 23-12 advantage. The Lions scored their last nine points on three-balls from senior guards Alexia O'Connor (Centerport, N.Y.) and Alex Hampton (Baldwin, N.Y.) as well as junior Shantana Kanhoye (South Richmond Hill, N.Y.). Molloy continued to play impressive basketball into the second quarter, grabbing a 16-point lead on an O'Connor lay-up with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the second frame. Jackson would keep the Lions ahead by that margin with a three-pointer, giving the hosts a 35-19 cushion with under four minutes to play. Dowling had no answers as a Kanhoye lay-up in the final minute of the half carried Molloy into the locker room with a 40-24 lead through two quarters of play.
Molloy opened the third quarter with a bang as freshman point guard Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer to put the Lions up by 17 at 43-24 with 8:35 to play. The visitors continually chipped into the lead, drawing to within 12 points at 50-38 on a jumper by Tanna Mohammed (Huntington, N.Y.) with two minutes remaining in the frame. That would be the last points scored in the quarter with the maroon and white carrying the 12-point lead into the final act. Any threat from Dowling, though, was erased to start the fourth quarter after Kanhoye and Ally Leftridge (Melville, N.Y.) both made jumpers to give the hosts a 16-point lead again with 7:40 to play in regulation. The Golden Lions did cut the deficit to 10 points at the 2:59 mark on a jumper by Krstina Surlan (Novi Grad, Bosnia) but Molloy ended on a 6-2 spurt to put the game firmly on ice.
Jackson hit all six of her free throws in the win, the only free throws that the Lions scored as a team (6-10, 60%). Meanwhile, Leftridge finished just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds and O'Connor scored 15 points to help Molloy pick up the win. The bench once again played a big part for Molloy, as Kanhoye had seven points, five rebounds and three assists in her 17 minutes of action. Junior guard Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I.) scored six points and pulled down six rebounds while dishing out a team-high four assists. Finally, Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) scored two points and had three assists in her 13 minutes played.
Dowling junior Kaelyn Ward (East Hampton, N.Y.) had a team-high 17 points while Surlan added 15 on a cold shooting performance (5-16) in which she also pulled down 11 rebounds. Mohammed added seven points and senior guard Kamile Ejerta (Jamaica, N.Y.) put up six points and six boards in the effort. Dowling was held to a 30% (17-57) shooting performance in the contest, while Molloy hit 49% (25-51) of its field goals in the win.
The Molloy College women's basketball team will make its annual Western New York trip next weekend beginning with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday (Jan. 22) at Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y.
