WENHAM, MA --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury women's basketball concluded play at the Gordon College Classic with an 88-67 non-conference victory over the Simmons College Sharks (0-3) Saturday afternoon from Wenham, Massachusetts inside Bennett Center. The Panthers are off to a 2-0 start for the third-straight season.
Old Westbury jumped out to an early advantage as
Paige Jelinek sank a pair of free throws to give her team a 16-8 lead with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter. Simmons closed out the opening stanza by scoring the following six points to cut their deficit to two (16-14). Old Westbury extended its lead to 11 (31-20) with six-straight points in a span of 38 seconds capped by
Tori Bellings' three-point play with 5:12 left in the second quarter. The Panthers later erupted with a 10-2 run to close out the final three minutes to go up by 14 points (41-27) heading into the break.
Simmons wasn't going away easily as the Sharks opened second-half play with six-straight points to cut their deficit to nine (41-32) 37 seconds in. Joseph answered by scoring four of Old Westbury's next-seven points to take a 16-point lead (48-32) at 7:13. Simmons countered with an 11-2 run to chop Old Westbury's lead to seven (50-43) with 5:06 left in the period. Old Westbury scored eight-straight points over a stretch of two minutes to construct a 15-point lead (58-43) with 2:49 showing on the third-quarter clock. The Sharks got back in the game with a 13-4 surge during span of 2:49 to pull within six points (62-56) 1:13 into fourth-quarter play.
Charlotte Renker's free throw put Old Westbury up by double-digits (69-59) for the final 6:17 of play. Old Westbury strung together a 20-6 run as
Phalan Smith's jumper extended the advantage to a game-high 23 points (88-65) with 36 seconds remaining.
Joseph led Old Westbury with 22 points (10-of-18 FG) and recorded a game-high five takeaways as
Davida Warren compiled her fourth-career double-double by logging a career-high 19 points (7-of-10 FG) and 10 rebounds (eight offensive) while she matched a career high with three blocks. Renker also contributed with a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.
Micah Browne chipped in with 11 points, a game-high eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds in the victory. Bellings netted 10 points and handed out five assists to round out Old Westbury's starting five.
Cassandra Stapelfeld poured in a game-high 23 points (7-of-19 FG, 7-of-8 FT) to pace Simmons. Molly Phillips (16 points) and Rebekah Carroll (14 points) both scored in double-figures.
In the end, Old Westbury shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the field, 20 percent (1-of-5) from three-point range and 69.7 percent (23-of-33) from the free-throw line while holding the Sharks to 34.4 percent (22-of-64) from the floor, 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the charity stripe. The Panthers owned a +29 (54-25) rebounding margin while outplaying Simmons in blocks (5-3) and assists (20-6) as the Sharks held the advantage in steals (10-9). Old Westbury also scored 17 second-chance points off 21 offensive rebounds.
SIMMONS COLLEGE SHARKS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury opens up the Dr. Betty Shabazz Tournament next Saturday (Nov. 24) with a non-conference tilt against the Simmons College Sharks (0-3) at 3 p.m. inside Cougars Cave in Brooklyn, New York.
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