The 2013 CUNYAC/Con Edison Community College Women’s Basketball Semifinals finished up with the#1 BMCC Panthers and the #2 Hostos Caimans advancing to the Finals this Friday at Borough of Manhattan Community College. For the Panthers, they will be looking for their first championship since 2003 when now Head Coach Veronica Sherman was on the team. For Hostos, it will be their first opportunity since 2008 and their second appearance versus BMCC.
#1 Borough of Manhattan Panthers 74, #4 Bronx Broncos 32 – Boxscore
Returning to the big game after falling last season to Kingsborough, the #1 BMCC Panthers defeated the #4 Broncos from the Bronx 74 to 32. In the championship final, the Panthers will be looking for their 7th CUNYAC/Con Edison Championship. They have the most CUNYAC Championships All-Time with six but all six came from the 1998-2003 seasons when the championship had just begun. For the Broncos, it was their first ever appearance in the CUNYAC/Con Edison Community College Women’s Basketball Championship in just the second year of the program.
“You never know what they are going to do but today was good,” said BMCC Head Coach Veronica Sherman who now has reached the Finals in two of her three years at BMCC as a coach. “The last time BMCC won a championship was when I played here in 2003 alongside my Assistant Coach Latoya Steele.”
The first half would feature strong play by the top-seeded Panthers as they jumped out to a tremendous 43-15 lead. Just five seconds into the game, CUNYAC/Con Edison First-Team All-Star and Burt Beagle Sportsmanship Award recipient Aiyana Harris scored two off an assist from Denea Fleary, also a First-Team All-Star.
The scoring would go back and forth until an 11-point run began around the 13 minute mark. Over the next five minutes, BMCC would make a couple of threes to expand the lead to 25-8. A few minutes later the Panthers would erupt for a huge 14-point run in a little less than four minutes that featured strong defense that lead to poor shots by the Broncos. The Panthers seemed in control and ended the half that way with their 28-point lead.
The second half would be more of the same with BMCC expanding their lead further. Early on it seemed like Bronx would crawl their way back into the game opening up the half on a 10-3 run. The Panthers put out the fire quickly with a 19-2 run of their own. This brought the score to 64-27 and for the rest of the game BMCC would remain in control till the final buzzer sounded at a score of 74-32.
The game would end 74-32 with an astounding three players recording double-doubles. For the Broncos, First-Team All-Star Anismery Blanco had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Bronx. On the BMCC side, Elesha Dieudonne would finish with 10 points and 16 rebounds while Harris would end at 11 points and 15 rebounds. For her efforts, Aiyana Harris was named the CUNYAC/Con Edison Player of the Game.
#2 Hostos Caimans 55, #3 Queensborough Tigers 44 – Boxscore
Both teams came in eyeing their shot at a fifth title and sole possession of second place in All-Time CUNYAC/Con Edison Community College Women’s Basketball Championships but it was the Caimans who will get their first chance since 2008. At that time, Hostos was in the midst of a four-year run (04’-07’) as champions but they met Queensborough in the final and the Tigers found their first of four consecutive championships (08’-11’). Hostos found some payback with the 55 to 44 victory.
“It was a good team win,” sid Hostos Head Coach Jessica Vilella. “Queensborough is tough. We split with them this season and to have to come in and play them in the first round was tough. We stuck together played hard and came out with the win.”
In the first half, the crowd would see how close the two seeds were as the Caimans and Tigers went point for point. CUNYAC/Con Edison Rookie of the Year Gessell Prentice lead Queensborough in scoring at the half with eight as she went 4-11 from the field. Despite her play, Hostos lead at half 29-23 with strong play by CUNAYC/Con Edison Second-Team All-Stars Mecca Norfleet and Melsha Messam. Norfleet was 2-4 from beyond the arc on her way to leading the Caimans in both scoring and assists with ten and five, respectively. Messam positioned herself nicely for a double-double with six rebounds and six points.
The second half was more of the same from the teams as the Caiman lead stayed between six and nine until the 12 minute mark when Player of the Year Shantana Kanhoye hit a three and Prentice scored another deuce to bring the Tigers with three. 2012 Player of the Year Kristina Shcherban followed that up by scoring four consecutive points, expanding the lead. The lead seemed safe until Kanhoye sunk two more threes and brought the Tigers within four with three minutes to go. Solid play finished out the game for the Caimans as they finished the game out on top 55-44.
For Queensborough, Prentice and Kanhoye finished with 14 points each to lead the Tiger charge. On the Caimans’ side, Melsha Messam recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 boards while Mecca Norfleet finished with 14 points and eight assists. For her efforts, Messam earned the CUNYAC/Con Edison Player of the Game.
