Bears Fall 65-53 to Purple Knights | Athletics News

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Feb. 16, 2011) - NYIT women's basketball faced a tough 65-53 loss to Bridgeport Wednesday evening in East Coast Conference PinkZone action. Junior Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn.) led the Bears with 14 points and 16 rebounds for her 16th double-double of the season.

NYIT dropped to 7-16 on the season and 5-13 in league play, while Bridgeport improved to 14-11 overall and 12-6 in the ECC. For the Purple Knights, Kelly Keil netted a game-high 20 points and Ivana Savic nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Bridgeport quickly took control of the game with a 7-1 lead just two minutes in. Yet, five straight points from Demitra Apergis (Littleton, Colo.) brought NYIT within one point and a jumper from Ana Komnenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) gave the Bears a one-point edge, 8-7, with 16:09 to play. The Purple Knights responded with a jumper from Elinor Avny but the Bears continued to rallied and produced a 7-0 run to claim a 15-11 advantage at 9:35. NYIT pushed its lead to 20-13 four minutes later on a three-pointer from Alexandra Venuto (Ossining, N.Y.). However, Bridgeport found a second wind with a 5-1 run to make it a one-point game heading into halftime, 25-24.

The score was quickly knotted in the opening minute of the second half on a free throw from Savic.The game was tied twice more before Bridgeport pulled ahead with 16-4 run to claim a 62-50 advantage with 1:28 left in the game. The Bears, who were held scoreless for four minutes, broke free on a three-pointer from freshman Megan Eastwood (Amityville, N.Y.), 64-53. The Purple Knights scored their last basket on a free throw from Edna Marant, 65-53, with 19 seconds to play.

NYIT returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 19 on the road at Dowling College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Oakdale, N.Y.

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Sabrina Polidoro, Sports Information Director
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