But at City College,…
By Dylan Butler
For most of the season, the York women’s basketball team was the Cinderella story in the CUNY conference. Fielding a squad of just six to seven players, the Lady Cardinals shocked the conference, going 10-3 in the regular season.
But at City College, York simply ran out of gas Tuesday. The bruised and battered group fell to Hunter, 77-65, in the CUNY semifinals.
The Hawks advance to play the College of Staten Island, 106-80 winners over Lehman, in the conference final Friday at 5:30 p.m.
“We had a successful season with just six players,” said junior point guard Garrianne Brown, who led York with 23 points. “Our bodies just wore out.”
Brown led the charge of the walking wounded. The Brooklyn native suffered several injuries in the Lady Cardinals’ 85-79 overtime quarterfinal win Saturday. The war took its toll on No. 4 York (16-7).
“That game took a lot out of us,” said York head coach Jackie Smith. “Tonight they came out and played with residue and a lot of heart.”
Against No. 1 Hunter (18-8), York was simply one step slower, especially guarding the perimeter. Jen Rogers (21 points) and Jen Agosto (18 points) killed York from beyond the arc. The duo combined to shoot 10-for-14 from three-point range with most of their long-range shots deflating an attempted York rally.
Hunter went on a 15-0 run to take a 28-18 lead on Agosto’s three from the left wing. York cut its deficit to 31-27 on a driving layup by Tamara Taylor (22 points). The Hawks went into the break with a 38-31 lead.
York got as close as 46-40 in the second half. But without 5-foot-11 freshman center Ineisha Roberts, who was out with a right shoulder injury, fatigue wore in as Hunter cruised to the win.
York 85, CCNY 79 (OT). It was slated to be a battle between the top two players in CUNY as Taylor, the conference’s player of the year, took on Lauren Cargill, last year’s CUNY player of the year, in the quarterfinals of the CUNY tournament at City College Saturday.
And while neither player disappointed — Taylor had 25 points, including a bucket from the left blocks with 41 seconds left to send the game into overtime, and Cargill netted a game-high 31 and had 20 rebounds — it was the Lady Cardinals’ supporting staff that proved to be the difference as York came from behind to defeat the Beavers (10-15), 85-79 in overtime.
Garrianne Brown scored a team-high 26 points, including 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Jeannse Masseus, a freshman out of Jamaica High School, was also clutch for York, scoring 18 points — including six in the extra session — in 13 minutes off the bench.
York men advance to CUNY semis: Stanley O’Neil scored 20 points and Alex Malone added 17 for York (14-11), the No. 4 seed in a 72-56 victory over fifth-seeded Lehman (17-8) Sunday, at City College.
York, which outrebounded the Lightning, 46-35, takes on No. 8 CCNY — 73-68 winners over top-seeded Baruch — in a semifinal game scheduled for Wednesday night.
The winner faces either No. 2 Staten Island (17-8) or third-seeded John Jay (14-11) in the CUNY final Friday at 7:30 p.m.
O’Neil also nailed 12-of-14 from beyond the arc to win the CUNY men’s three-point contest at halftime of the women’s semifinal Tuesday.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
