By Tyler Morello
Staff Writer
The College’s women’s basketball team had their tremendous season come to an end on Friday night in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship against New Jersey City University. NJCU was victorious in the championship for the third time in four years, defeating the Lions 65-52.
Fifth year guard Julia Setaro was able to get the Lions going with a three-pointer, and junior guard Nina Branchizio followed that up with a three of her own, extending the lead to 6-0 early in the first. A six point lead was the largest lead the Lions had all game.
The Lions were forcing turnovers and energizing the crowd, but the Gothic Knights were able to weather the storm. They took their first lead on an and-one to make the score 11-10, and near the end of the first went up 18-15. Setaro buried two free throws with three seconds left in the quarter, and the Lions found themselves down by one after the first.
The second quarter was all NJCU. Going on an early 9-0 run and a 17-5 extended run, NJCU’s Damaris Rodriguez was starting to get whatever she wanted on the court. Rodriguez, the back-to-back NJAC Player of the Year, had 17 points in the half and was the Gothic Knights’ engine. The Lions were held to nine points in the second and a 21 percent field goal percentage.
Senior Isabella Cafaro gave the Lions a different dynamic off the bench, displaying her shooting ability as a forward. NJCU had difficulty guarding the Lions with her on the floor, as she was able to space the floor and knock down multiple outside jumpers, but picked up two questionable foul calls on illegal screens that sent her to the bench for the majority of the first half.
With the College trailing 37-26 out of the break, NJCU kept their foot on the gas and had a quick 5-0 run to go up 42-26. The Lions continued to fight though, with junior Arianna McCleod scoring five straight points on a three and a layup. Branchizio hit a three pointer of her own on the following possession, and the score was now 43-34. The Lions fought for another defensive stop and Cafaro put in her second three of the game, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
The momentum had completely swung in the Lions’ favor, as they got another key defensive stop. NJCU was visibly rattled by the College’s resurgence, but forced a crucial steal and laid it in on the fast break to stop the bleeding. The bucket was the start of a 7-0 run for the Gothic Knights, who went up 50-38 heading into the final quarter.
The College was not able to do enough damage in the fourth to cut down the lead, with the Gothic Knights getting up as much as 60-41. The final score was 65-52, concluding quite an exciting championship game.
Cafaro led the Lions with 14 points on six of seven shooting from the field. Setaro added 11 points as well as moving into fourth place in all-time scoring for team history. McCleod chipped in seven off the bench for the Lions, while Branchizio and fifth year senior Natalie Kolb had six each. Rodriguez of NJCU led the game with 26 points.
With depth up and down the roster and a great coaching staff, this Lions team was one of the best of recent years.
