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BOX SCORE

OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) – The SUNY College at Old Westbury women's basketball took care of business at home Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Sage Gators 84-73 in a Skyline Conference affair at the Clark Athletic Center. With the win, OW improved to 8-3 on the season and 4-2 in conference play while Sage dipped to 4-7 and 3-4, respectively.

With the score knotted at 5-5 at the 15:09 mark, Sage went on a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead at 13:38. OW responded with a 17-6 run to take a 22-17 lead that was capped by a Brittany Jones jumper at with 8:45 remaining on the first half clock. After Sage's Chelsea Martin dropped in a layup to cut the deficit down to three (22-19), OW used a 10-0 run to go up (32-19) with 3:41 remaining in the opening half. OW took a nine point lead (37-28) in the locker room.

Sage came out of the locker room at half time and put together a 15-7 run to pull within one point, 44-43. OW countered with a 15-4 offensive spurt to go up 59-47 with 11:12 left on the second half clock. Sage responded with a 23-13 run to pull back within two points (72-70) at 4:22. OW put Sage away with a 12-3 run to close out the game en route to victory.

Kim Weathers paced OW with a game-high 28 points, of which 20 came in the second half. She finished with eight rebounds, five assists and one steal. Three other Panthers registered double-digit point as Deslyn Appewhaite (15 points, 7 steals), Brittany Jones (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Ruth Vargas (14 points, 8 rebounds) were all major contributors in the win. Shannon Gilly added three steals.

Chelseas Martin led the way for Sage with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field to go alogn with 10 rebounds. Carly Valleye followed with 17 points and Tiffany Bezio added 12. Elizabeth Donk handed out eight assists.

The Panthers shot 45.5 percent from the floor (30-66) and 40 percent from deep (4-10). The Gators connected at 43.9 percent from the field (25-57) and 40.7 percent from three-point land (11-27). OW won the boards battle, 43-29, including 15-3 off the offensive glass, which resulted in 12 second chance points. OW pressured Sage into 26 turnovers, translating into 27 Panther points.

NYU-POLY FIGHTING BLUE JAYS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns to the court on Tuesday (Saturday (Jan. 11), taking on the NYU-Poly Fighting Blue Jays in a Skyline Conference battle on the road. Game time is set to tip at 7 p.m. in Brooklyn, New York.

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