Lady Knights Usurped by UCAP 88-78

01.25.19

Warwick, R.I. – January 35, 2019: the CCRI Lady Knights basketball team traveled to UConn-Avery Point (UCAP) in Groton, CT for a Region XXI non-league game on Thursday evening. The Lady Knights fell to the Pointers of UCAP 88-78. With the loss CCRI falls to 6-10 overall and 3-2 in Region XXI play.

The Lady Knights came out to the gates hot versus the Pointers on their home court in Groton, CT. CCRI took a 24-17 lead after one quarter. The Lady Knights got a spark from freshman Olivia Batastini-Pallister (Providence, RI) who sank an early 3-pointer to mute the Pointer faithful and give CCRI some momentum while in hostile territory.

In the second quarter UCAP was able to regain the lead by outscoring the Lady Knights 22-14. The Pointers were led by their leading scorer Mia Brennan (29.8ppg) who was setting the early scoring pace for UCAP. CCRI countered with scoring output from their leading scorer Jada Littlejohn (Providence, RI) (18.8 ppg). The game was going to come down to which team would have the better second half with the score 39-38 UCAP at halftime.

Both teams came out of the halftime break with renewed vigor while they scored almost at will. The Lady Knights were getting scoring from their big three: Jada Littlejohn, Olivia Batastini-Pallister (Providence, RI) and Co-Captain Kat Raposo (Warwick, RI) who helped CCRI match their output from the first quarter by pouring in 24 points in the quarter. Unfortunately for the Lady Knights UCAP's Rebekah Sanders was having her best game in a Pointer's uniform. Sanders, was a tour de force, charting a monster double-double scoring a game-high and career-high 31 points with game-high and career-high 29 rebounds. Sanders' effort helped UCAP increase their lead to seven points 69-62.

The fourth quarter didn't have as much action as the first three quarters with both teams in foul trouble. The foul trouble led to Brennan, Littlejohn and Raposo three of the game's top scorers fouling out. With shortened benches and the game's top scorer still on the floor for UCAP the Pointers were able to extend their lead and win by the final score of 88-78.

Leading the way for the Lady Knights was Co-Captain Jada Littlejohn with 23 points with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Also playing well for CCRI was Co-Captain Kat Raposo with 18 points, three assists and three steals playing with maximum effort as she sacrificed her body while playing hard-nosed defense. Freshman Olivia Batastini-Pallister also played very well with 15 points on five 3-pointers with seven assists and a steal. Rounding out the Lady Knights stat leaders was Co-Captain Waleska Kelly (Pawtucket, RI) with a team high 20 rebounds with five blocked shots, three assists and a steal and Co-Captain Tatyana Correia (Cranston, RI) added nine points and eight rebounds with a steal and a blocked shot.

The next game for the Lady Knights will be tomorrow the 26th when they will host the Bulldogs of Bunker Hill Community College from Charlestown, MA for a Region XXI non-league game at the Cullen Fieldhouse at 1pm.

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England's largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.