By: Dylan O’Loughlin
After scoring 91 points two games ago, and earning a 23-point victory just last night, the Brockport Women’s Basketball squad looked to earn its third straight victory on Senior Day hosting the Utica Pioneers. Entering the fourth quarter up seven, the Golden Eagles held off the Pioneers last effort rally to pull out a 73-64 victory.
“I thought we took really good care of the ball tonight and ultimately got the rebounds we needed when it mattered,” Brockport head coach Corinne Jones said. “Our senior SJB (Stephanie Jean-Baptiste) put us on her back with her double-double effort, so when a senior can put you and your team on their back on their senior night, you’re usually going to come out victorious. Senior night is kind of one of those wacky games because there’s high emotions so there’ll be highs and lows, but I thought Steph really filled up the stat sheet and did what we needed to do to win the game.”
Brockport initially had a 10-point lead coming out of halftime, but adjustments by Utica kept the Pioneers in the game the rest of the way. Utica outscored the Golden Eagles 17-14 in the third as the Pioneers caused six turnovers for seven points to help cut the lead. Five different Pioneers scored in the quarter with Madison Marusic and McKenzie Simmons leading the way with five points apiece.
In the fourth, Utica stayed hot. The Pioneers opened up the quarter on a 13-6 run to tie the game at 59 apiece thanks to shooting 100% from the field in the first five minutes of fourth quarter action.
But the Golden Eagles responded and it was brought to you by what else but the defense. Brockport caused five turnovers in the quarter with four coming in the final five minutes of play to turn the tides their way.
It was junior Brianna Carey who iced the game for the Golden Eagles once again. Up 70-63 with 30 seconds left, Carey drove to the paint and finished a tough layup to take a 72-63 lead and put it out of reach for Utica.
“I try not to buy into what their defense is trying because I know what their defense is trying because I know what they’re trying to do,” Carey said. “I kind of just stay calm, cool and collected and if I’m given the opportunity I try to take it.”
Despite the hot Pioneers start, the Golden Eagles won the quarter 20-18 as senior guard Stephanie Jean-Baptiste led the way with eight points.
It was a battle of the top Empire 8 scorers in the second half as well. Jean-Baptiste (19.1) and Utica junior forward Vanessa Hall (18.5) are both one and two in the Empire 8 in points per game. In the second half, the scorers led their squads as Jean-Baptiste netted 16 of her game-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes while Hall poured in 10 of her team-high 21.
“It was more footwork, they’re bigger than me (Hall & Vanessa), but they’re also slower than me and I can move faster than them,” Jean-Baptiste said. “It’s a different kind of day because it’s Senior Day, but it’s like a regular game to me to be honest.”
On the day, Brockport caused 22 turnovers for 18 points thanks to 15 steals. The Golden Eagles entered the game first in steals in the Empire 8 and 29th in the nation with four Golden Eagles in the E8 top 10 for that category. The top-10 quad of Jean-Baptiste, Carey, Peyton Maneri and Mandy Brink combined for 11 of the 15 steal in the outing.
The Golden Eagles also posted 12 points off of second chance efforts. In the rebound battle, Brockport capitalized on more opportunities despite going against the likes of 5’10 Hall and 6’0 Natalie Cornell.
What makes these battles even more important is that Brockport did not shoot the ball well today. The Golden Eagles finished the day 26-75 (35%) and 1-24 from the three (4%) but still put up 73 points in a nine-point victory.
The first quarter was back and forth as both squads could not get any buckets to fall and kept committing turnovers. At the end of one, it was tied 16-16.
It was the second quarter when the rim started to widen for the Golden Eagles. Up one with six minutes before halftime, Brockport went on an 11-0 run to take a 31-20 lead. From there, both squads traded buckets as the Golden Eagles took a 39-29 lead into halftime and won the quarter 23-13. Utica ended up not being able to comeback from that deficit.
Carey was the main catalyst, posting 11 of her 17 points in the first half. The junior scored her career-high 24 points against Utica on Jan. 16 as Carey averages 20 points per game against the Pioneers on the season.
“We kind of knew their style of play and what works against them,” Carey said. “But, we were missing Peyton (Maneri) that first game, so we had to do some adjusting for my role that game. So today, I think we just played how we played and it worked.”
On the day for Brockport, Jean-Baptiste notched a 26-point, 15-rebound double-double for her third of the season along with a game-high five steals. Carey finished with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals while Brink celebrated Senior Day with 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Claire Turner added eight points, six rebounds, two steals and a block while Jackie Kozakiewicz carried momentum from her 10-point outing last night with seven points and two steals.
For the Pioneers, Hall posted a double-double of her own with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Cornell ended with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Simmons stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven boards, five assists and two steals while Marusic chipped in eight points and four rebounds. Emma Simmons also scored eight points while Carly Atty knocked down two triples for six points.
The victory is now Brockport’s 11th in the last 12 outings and its eighth by 10 or more points. The Golden Eagles have only one more game left of the regular season before playoffs start next Saturday Feb. 21. For Brockport as always, the mentality is the same.
To go along with that it was also Senior Day for the Golden Eagles. Brockport honored Jean-Baptiste, Brink, Turner, Mallory Turner and Madison Turner today in their last regular season home game as Golden Eagles: Focus on us and take it one day, one game at a time.
“They had a big impact on our program so it was really nice to be able t celebrate them and all their accomplishments,” Carey said. “They’ve done so much for our program and we’re all just really great friends, so it was great to see everyone having fun and smiling.”
Brockport improves to 17-7 and 13-2 in confernece play with the win, solidifying a second seed and home game for the Empire 8 playoffs. On the other hand, the Pioneers fall to 7-17 and 3-12 in E8 play and are officially eliminated from postseason contention.
Next up for the Golden Eagles, on the road at Geneseo (16-7, 10-4) for the final game of the regular season. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Leave a Reply