BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 12, 2011) – It was a tale of two very different halves as NYIT women's basketball was edged 76-65 on the road at neighboring East Coast Conference rival C.W. Post Saturday afternoon. Junior Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn.) registered a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds for her 14th double-double of season as the Bears dropped to 7-15 overall and 5-12 in league play. 

 

"This was a tough loss, but kudos to C.W. Post," said head coach Anthony Crocitto. "They were ready, prepared and made good game-to-game adjustments."

 

Baker also added six steals in the outing, while sophomore Rebecca Lynch (Hillsdale, N.J.) chipped in with 16 points and five assists. Senior Alexis Tyson (North Babylon, N.Y.) also added in 10 points. Rebounding between the two teams was tied at 46 a piece, while NYIT held a 21-10 offensive edge and C.W. Post grabbed a 36-25 defensive advantage. The Pioneers also outscored the Bears 49.2% to 28.4% from the field.

 

"Cierra was an All-American at times today but we needed balance to win," added Crocitto. "We look forward to our final four games and the postseason."

 

After C.W. Post (11-11, 9-8 ECC) jumped to an 11-4 lead with 13:55 to play in the first half, NYIT fought back to rally off seven unanswered points in just over a minute to knot the game, 11-11. The two teams then exchanged baskets before the Bears' defense took control of the game and held the Pioneers scoreless for nearly seven minutes. NYIT outscored them 10-0 to take a 23-17 advantage with 5:54 left to play in the half. The rally was interrupted by a short jumper from Felicia Joyner at 3:42. Janea Aiken then helped cut the lead to 25-22 with a three-pointer at 2:37. However, Baker helped the Bears hold on to the lead as she converted a pair of free throws and added a layup to close out the half, 29-24.

 

A different story was told in the second half as C.W. Post's offensive attack improved and the Pioneers knotted the game 33-33 on an Aiken layup and added the and-one at 17:27. The Pioneers regained the lead and increased their advantage to 50-40 off a 15-4 run that was capped off by a layup from Joyner at 9:40. C.W. Post continued to hold a double-digit edge and led by as many as 14-points, 59-45, with 7:24 to play. Yet, the Bears were not going to give up without a fight. The lead was knocked down to eight-pointers, 63-56, after Lynch scored a layup at 5:16. Baker then added a layup of her own along with two free throws at 4:25 to close the gap to four-points, 63-59. However, that was the closest NYIT would get as C.W. Post went on to win 75-65.

 

For the Pioneers, Aiken led the Pioneers with 23 points, while Joyner had 16. 

 

The Bears return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 16 when they host the Purple Knights of Bridgeport in PinkZone action. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. at Recreation Hall.