Women's Basketball to Host NYIT on Wednesday in the ECC Quarterfinal Round
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2012) – After completing the season with a 20-8 overall record, including a 11-5 conference mark, the women's basketball team will begin postseason play on Wednesday against NYIT in the ECC quarterfinals.
The Pioneers ended the regular season with a 78-60 home victory over the District of Columbia this past Saturday, helping to earn the number four seed in the ECC Tournament. Controlling the rebounding column by a 49-38 advantage, C.W. Post was able to score 21 second chance points while only allowing five to the Firebirds. The defense also came up with 10 steals.
Nicolette Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led five players for the Pioneers in double figures with 24 points to go with nine rebounds.
Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) filled her stat line with 15 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
The team's offense goes into the postseason with a 74.8 scoring average behind 5.9 three-pointers made a game and the defense is only allowing 63.9 points per game. Rebounding has also been a beneficial category for the team with a margin of 9.2 rebounds per game over opponents. Coming up with 9.6 steals a game has been essential for the defense to force 19.2 turnovers a game.
Felicia Joyner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) finished as the top scorer for the Pioneers' regular season, scoring 16.9 points a game behind a total of 83 free throws made in 33.6 minutes a contest. Marciniak remained strong with her low-post scoring and rebounding, finishing with 10.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Samantha Kopp (Franklinville, N.Y.) led the squad in blocks behind a total of 35, as well as achieving 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Peters has accumulated a team-high 57 steals to go with her 7.1 points per game.
The Bears of the New York Institute of Technology enter postseason play as the number five seed after going 9-7 in conference and 16-12 overall, with the finale coming this past Saturday in a 82-65 win over Bridgeport. The point total was helped by 10 three-pointers made and the defense managed to force 21 turnovers. Cierra Baker led with 15 points as well as grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out six assists. Sabrina Moore also put forth a solid performance behind 12 points, eight assists and four steals.
Behind 25.9 field goals made per game, the Bears own a scoring margin of 3.1 points per game over teams played. On the defensive end, the team has been able to come away with 12.9 steals per game that have helped total 22.7 turnovers a game against opponents.
Baker ended the season as the leading average scorer for the Bears with 15.1 points per game with a 48.9 shooting percentage. She also was pulling in 9.1 rebounds per game and 3.6 steals per game. Nikki Jo Rotolo is second on the team with 13.1 points per game and leads the group with 3.4 assists per game. Rebecca Lynch has also played well with her averages of 12.6 points and 2.8 steals a game.
During the season, the Pioneers and the Bears split the two games played between each other. The first meeting ended in a New York Tech 76-74 overtime victory on the Bears' home court. The second meeting came on the C.W. Post home court, with the Pioneers earning a 73-68 win. Baker did not play in the second game, however, she came away with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists during the first game. Joyner averaged 22.0 points a game in the two contests and Marciniak put up averages of 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds.
Wednesday's game will take place in the Pratt Recreation Center at 7 p.m., with the winner moving on to play Dowling on Saturday at Queens college.