OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Dec. 11, 2010) - Freshman Alexandra Venuto (Ossining, N.Y.) nailed both her free throws to give NYIT women's basketball a 60-58 victory over the University of Bridgeport in East Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon.

 

"We are becoming a true team and today it showed," said head coach Anthony Crocitto. "I am proud of our team's ability to play a full forty minutes. [Rebecca] Lynch was at her season best on offense and defense. Alex Venuto struggled with her shot but hit the two biggest free throws of her young career. We hope to see this propel our confidence in league play."

 

Junior Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn.) tallied a game-high 22 points and added nine rebounds. Baker was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, shooting 8-for-9. Sophomore Rebecca Lynch (Hillsdale, N.J.) added 12 points and grabbed five steals.

 

For the Bridgeport, Julia Colley had 18 points, while Ivana Savic tallied a game-high 12 rebounds.

 

The Bears started off strong and quickly claimed a five point lead, 11-6, on layups from Baker and a three-pointer by Venuto. However, the Purple Knights fought back to take a one-point edge, 14-13, on a jumper from Kelly Keil with 11:55 to play. From there, Bridgeport climbed to a six-point edge, 22-16, with 4:22 left and held onto the upperhand into the opening minutes of the second half.

 

A layup from Baker opened NYIT's scoring in the second half and back-to-back deuces from Alexis Tyson (North Babylon, N.Y.) reclaimed the lead for NYIT. The two teams then traded baskets until the 10:51 mark when a trey by Venuto sparked a rally from the Bears that put them on top for nine and a half minutes. The Bears worked their way to a 58-49 advantage off a 14-4 rally. Freshman Demitra Apergis (Littleton, Colo.) made the layup off a dish from Baker at 4:09.

 

Yet, the Purple Knights did not give up. Bridgeport then held NYIT scoreless with a 9-0 run that knotted the score 58-58 with 25 seconds to play. The Bears drew a foul from Elsebeth Birman that sent Venuto to the line for the win. The rookie made both her baskets to give NYIT the 60-58 victory.

 

The Bears return to action on Thursday, Dec. 30 against Saint Anselm in non-conference action. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. at Recreation Hall.