WORCESTER, Mass. (Dec. 29, 2011) – Senior Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn.) led the game with 28 and 11 rebounds to help NYIT women’s basketball to an 84-80 upset over No. 12 Assumption College Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Bears improved to 6-4 on the season, while the Greyhounds faced their first loss of the year and dropped to 9-1.

 

"This is a huge win for NYIT," said head coach Anthony Crocitto. "Cierra Baker is clearly having an All-American season. Words cannot describe how special she is. We also had huge contributions from [Alex] Venuto, [Chloe] Johnson, and [Demitra] Apergis. Nikki Jo's [Rotolo] performance in the last 10 minutes really helped us close it out for the win."

 

Sophomore Alex Venuto (Ossining, N.Y.) added 16 points for the Bears, as she was perfect from behind the arc (5-for-5). Nikki Jo Rotolo (Rome, N.Y.) and Demitra Apergis (Littleton, Colo.) were also in double-digit scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectfully.

 

For the Greyhounds, Kelly Meredith had 27 points and Katy Howard added 20 points.

 

Overall, NYIT held only a slight shooting margin over Assumption, who led 70% to 46.7% from the free throw line. But it was the Bears 84.6% three-point shooting mark and 29 points off of turnovers that aided in the victory.

 

Despite scoring the opening basket almost a minute in, the Bears quickly dropped to a 10 point deficit 12-2 with 17:08 to play. But NYIT fought in a back and forth battle that brought the score within in three points 26-23 with 9:46 to play. A minute later Venuto knocked down her first trey of the night to knot the score 26-26 and then gave the Bears its second lead 29-26 with another three-pointer. Even though the score was tied once more, NYIT continued to come out on top and climbed to a 50-40 lead with 1:01 remaining in the first half. However, after a foul by Rotolo, Meredith converted a three-point play to send both teams into the locker room with the Bears leading 50-43.

 

NYIT quickly saw its lead diminish in the second half as Assumption opened with a 16-8 run to knot the score 59-59 with 14:31 remaining. The Greyhounds continued their rally and earned a 71-63 edge with 8:59 to play. However, the Bears responded with a run of their own to reclaim the lead 79-78 with 2:38 remaining. The rally began with a jumper by Rebecca Lynch (Hillsdale, N.J.) and was fueled on baskets by Baker, Rotolo and Sabrinna Moore (Flushing, N.Y.).

 

The final two minutes were closely played but a final push by Baker sealed the win. She nailed a layup with 1:12 to go to make the score 81-78 but Howard brought it back to within one with just 55 seconds to go. The Bears tried to stretch their lead to four points with a three by Rotolo but the offensive board and put back by Baker was good enough for an 83-80 lead with 30 seconds left. Assumption then called a time out but out of the break the Greyhounds fouled and send backer to the line. She made just one of her two shots with eight seconds left for the final score of 84-80.

 

NYIT returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 31 on the road at Division III opponent St. Joseph’s. Tip-off is scheduled for Noon in Patchogue, N.Y.