The Berkeley College women's basketball team endured a challenging couple of days of basketball this past weekend, as the Knights fell to Central Maine Community College 91-53 on Friday evening, before turning around the following day and suffering a nail-biting 70-68 defeat to the Seawolves of Southern Maine Community College. With the pair of defeats, Berkeley is now. 4-5 on the 2024-2025 campaign.
Despite the loss to the Mustangs, the Knights were led by Khya Hough, as she finished with a team-high 12 points (6-8 FT) to go along with four rebounds and a team-best four assists. Maria Negron added 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two swatted shots, and Anastasia Davis finalized her evening with nine points and three caroms.
Five players scored in double figures for Central Maine, including Hunter Hartsgrove, as she connected on seven triples, and 13 of her 27 shot attempts overall, scoring a game-high 33 points while snatching four rebounds and swiping two steals. Ava Smith (7-12 FG) contributed 14 points and eight boards, and Ella Lavigne netted 13 points, snatched eight rebounds, dished three assists, and added a pair of steals. Riley Hebler and Jenny Chaput scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Farah Atallah's 11 rebounds led all players.
The Knights raced out to an early 6-2 advantage in the opening minutes thanks to a converted jumper by Aliyah Smith and a pair of bucks by DeSirae Sealy, before Central Maine took the lead for good on a Hebler layup with 5:28 to play in the first quarter. CMCC held a 22-12 advantage after the first ten minutes, and, behind Hartsgrove's sensational shooting in the second quarter (9-for-14), the Mustangs outscored Berkeley 32-18 in the period, taking a commanding 54-30 edge into the locker room at halftime.
Central Maine led by as many as 33 in the third (74-41) before closing the quarter with a 30-point edge (74-44). The Mustangs continued their dominance in the fourth, winning the period 17-9 to account for the 38-point margin of triumph (91-53).
The Mustangs connected on 45.6 percent of their shots from the floor (36-79), while Berkeley hit on 17 of 60 attempts (28.3 percent). Central Maine held a 53-35 edge on the glass, while also dishing 27 assists to the Knights' 10. The opportunistic hosts held a slim edge in steals (12-9), and the Mustangs narrowly won the turnover battle, committing 21 miscues to Berkeley's 22.
In the Knights' tough loss to the Seawolves the follow day, Hough's 27 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals were all game-highs. Sealy connected on five of her eight attempts from the floor to finalize her afternoon with 12 points, five boards, four assists, and two steals, and Negron added seven points, 11 caroms, and a pair of steals.
Southern Maine's Ashley Mullen scored a team-best 21 points (8-16 FG) while also collecting five rebounds and dishing four assists, and Milo Seams contributed 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals. Jade Trueman and Halle Tripp scored eight points apiece, with Trueman snatching 13 boards in the win.
Trailign 35-31 at halftime, the Knights started the third quarter by putting together an 8-3 run to jump ahead of the Seawolves by a score of 39-38. Sealy attributed to four of the points during that aforementioned spurt, with Christa Williams and Hough adding a bucket apiece.
Later in the third, the teams found themselves in deadlocks of 41-41, 44-44, 46-46, and 48-48, before Berkeley netted three of the final four points of the period to take a 52-49 advantage after 30 minutes of action.
In the fourth, the Seawolves retook the lead by a score of 55-52, but Hough's converted triple knotted the game at 55-all with 7:44 remaining. Later, with the game tied at 62 apiece, the hosts took the lead for good (64-62) when Trueman converted on a jumper. Berkeley, which eventually trailed 70-65 with just 1:14 left, inched to within two (70-68) inside the final minute, but the Knights misfired on four free throw attempts and committed a turnover, which ultimately led the team to a loss.
SMCC shot 40.7 percent from the floor (24-59), while Berkeley College hit on 27 of its 78 shots (34.6 percent). The Knights held a healthy 46-38 edge on the glass, while also scoring 15 points off turnovers to the Seawolves' 14. SMCC held a 19-11 advantage in assists, but Berkeley registered a whopping 17 steals compared to four for the hosts.
Free throw shooting efficiency ultimately turned out to be a huge factor in this one, as Berkeley hit on just 33.3 percent of its free throw opportunities (9-27), while SMCC drained 16 of 22 from the line (72.7 percent).
Berkeley will close out calendar year 2024 on Saturday, as the Knights will take on Bryant & Stratton-Albany at Achievement First Brooklyn High School. Start-time is to-be-determined.
