Queensborough Captures Fourth Straight CUNYAC/Con Edison Community College
Women's Basketball Title Over Kingsborough, 72-70

BRONX, N.Y. - Tournament Most Valuable Player, Zaconja Bethea scored 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting, and top-seeded Queensborough Community College shot 11-for-27 from 3-point range while holding off a late charge from second-seeded Kingsborough Community College, as the Tigers captured their fourth-consecutive City University of New York Athletic Conference/Con Edison Community College Women's Basketball championship by a 72-70 decision.

Simone Leathers poured in 12 points for the Tigers, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Teammate and sophomore Dominique Williams registered eight points and dished out 10 assists for QCC, which shot .397 from the field on the evening.

CUNYAC/Con Edison First-Team All-Star, Kingsborough freshman Carla Baena was also tabbed on the All-Tournament squad, and nearly put together a triple-double with 28 points (12-for-19 FG), 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Rounding out the all-tournament team were KCC’s Latoya Kinloch (game-high 16 rebounds), Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Crystal Bond and Hostos Community College’s Brittany Addarich.

Kingsborough held decisive edges in second-chance points (31-10) and rebounding (63-45), but in the end could not overcome a 3-for-21 display from beyond the 3-point arc.

Williams and Bethea each netted fast-break layups in part of a 12-5 run to start the second half for Queensborough, which took the lead for good at 47-44 when Jaclyn Torres buried a 3-ball with 15:47 remaining. Bethea’s shot from downtown gave the Tigers a 54-48 edge with 13:28 left before the Wave pulled within one with five consecutive points.

The QCC lead fluctuated between two and six for the next several minutes, before Leathers and Bethea hit a layup and 3-pointer, respectively, to give their side a 72-65 lead with 2:38 left. From there, Kingsborough made one final charge. Hilary Roman (14 pts.) canned a pair of shots from the free-throw line with 2:22 to go, before Baena canned a jumper in the paint with 1:52 showing on the clock to pull the Wave within a 72-69 score.

Kinloch made one free throw with 1:13 showing, before KCC got the ball back after two missed Tigers shots. After the teams matched turnovers, Roman’s 3-point attempt with 24 seconds remaining went in-and-out. Queensborough held possession for 15 seconds, before Kingsborough forced a five-second violation and had one more shot to tie or win the contest. After a timeout call by 2011 CUNYAC/Con Edison Coach of the Year, KCC’s Ronnetta Copeland, her side advanced the ball quickly into the frontcourt. However, Roman’s contested trifecta fell short and the Tigers held on for the four-peat.

The three-time defending champion Tigers jumped ahead right away, scoring the first 11 points of the game 3:30 into the contest – including four markers by Bethea. However, the Wave responded with 10 consecutive points of their own to pull within 11-10 with 12:49 remaining. CUNYAC/Con Edison first-team all-star Latoya Kinloch scored a conventional 3-point play, while Ariel Gotay knocked down a trifecta at the end of the spurt.

Both sides traded baskets, and Queensborough went ahead with 9:30 left when Simone Leathers knocked down her second 3-pointer of the half. From there, Kingsborough got four points apiece from Baena and Roman, utilizing an 8-0 stretch as the Wave took their first lead of the game, 24-23, with 5:24 to go. Trisha Pierre banked in a layup before Jane Walsh poured in a trifecta to put the Tigers back in front by a 28-24 count. However, an 8-4 run over the last 2:03 of the half gave KCC a 39-35 at halftime.

-- CUNYAthletics.com --