Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The women's basketball team started the 2026 portion of the season off with an East Coast Conference victory over Queens College, 65-61. The win sets the Lions at 4-11 on the season and an even 2-2 in league play while Queens drops to 4-11 (1-3 ECC)


How it Happened

• Tied at five after the first three minutes,  the Lions fired off an 11-0 run that saw four points from senior Colleen McCullagh, three from senior Sophia Yearwood, and two each from senior Rosa Rizzitelli and freshman Kaitlyn Paulino Rosario. 
• Both teams would have a stretch of two minutes without a basket, followed by two field goals from the Knights to make it 17-11 after 10 minutes of play.
• Queens would net the first three points of the second quarter to come within one possession, but a layup from freshman Sharmeela Ugbogbo and another trey from Yearwood reestablished the Lions' lead. 
• The Knights then put together a 9-0 run to tie the contest at 25 but the duo of Ugbogbo and Yearwood put the home team ahead by five midway through the quarter.
• The visitors continued to chip away at the led, scoring six in a row to lead, 31-30, and would take a 36-34 advantage into the halftime break. 
• Five points from Rizzitelli opened the scoring in the second half to put Molloy in front, 39-36, but a six-point run from the Knights followed to put them in the lead, 42-39. 
• Molloy sprung back into action with an 11-2 run that saw five points from Rizzitelli and four from McCullagh to help the Lions to a 50-44 advantage headed into the final 10 minutes of play. 
• The Knights began to mount a comeback in the final quarter, opening with the first eight points to knot the score at 50. 
• The score would be tied five times through the fourth frame, but foul shots from sophomore Jamie Davneiro and a layup from McCullagh broke the knot for the final time.

Top Performances

• Yearwood paced all scorers with 21 points, including five three-pointers in the first half.
• McCullagh had a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
• Rizzitelli followed with 17 points and led the Lions with four steals.
• Davneiro had a career-best afternoon with a team-leading nine assists and added three steals. 
• Ugbogbo pulled down 11 rebounds.

Up Next
Molloy will remain in Rockville Centre next week, facing D'Youville on Friday (Jan. 16) at 5:00 p.m.