2002 CUNY / Con Edison Basketball Championships Women's Quarterfinals at Hunter College

Game 1 - Lehman 96, John Jay 69

New York, NY - Senior Ivelisse Rosario set a school record with eight three-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points as #2 seed Lehman College (17-9) advanced by downing #7 seed John Jay 96-69. Fellow senior Desirae Ross also scored 26 and became Lehman's all-time scoring leader with 1,230 points. Charlene Thomas (1982-86) previously held the mark with 1,209 career points.

The two seniors were joined by Florena Rhodes in turning in phenomenal efforts. The sophomore forward racked up 23 points and 15 rebounds. Conference Player of the Year Chanel Kendall settled for a secondary scoring role on this day, notching 11 points to go with her 13 rebounds, and nine assists.

Lehman used its pressing defense to open up a 53-23 lead late in the opening stanza. Ross and Rosario accounted for 31 of those Lightning points as the squad coasted to victory from that point on.

"This is the type of game we wanted to play in the first round," said Lehman head coach Eric Harrison. "The semifinals will be a challenge, but we just need to play our style of game and keep it going."

Ross was also looking ahead to Wednesday's semifinals (against the Staten Island vs. York winner) after her record-setting performance. "If we keep playing as a team and stay composed, then hopefully we should get the win."

John Jay (8-18) was paced by Tiffany Crippen with 22 points and December Bails adding 13 points. Both players also grabbed seven rebounds for the Bloodhounds.

Game 2 - Staten Island 71, York 61

New York, NY - Defending CUNY champion College of Staten Island (18-8) opened up defense of its title with a 71-61 victory over feisty #6 seed York College, which hung around until the game's final three minutes. April Nelson led the #3 seed Dolphins with 19 points, including four three-pointers, while CUNY Rookie of the Year Jacclyn Rock tallied 14 points and 21 rebounds.

Following the 14 minute mark of the second half, CSI went on a 13-0 run, started by a Donna Przybyszewski runner. She scored six points while Stephanie Iosue made two steals, scored a basket, and hit two free throws during the stretch as the Dolphins went up by a 54-40 margin with 6:47 remaining.

With 2:04 left in the game, York cut the Staten Island lead down to six, 65-59, on a pair of free throws by Margaret Benjamin. CSI finally pulled away on four free throws by Przybyszewski and two by Iosue. York mustered just two free throws by Tashana Watson the rest of the way and missed its last eight shots.

"Although we're the defending champions, we're still very young and sometimes we don't understand that this is playoff basketball," said Staten Island head coach Marguerite Gualtieri. "Teams are not just going to give up."

In addition to the contributions of Nelson and Rock, the Dolphins got 15 points and six rebounds from Przybyzewski. Iosue added 12 points and five assists.

York (7-17) was lead by Watson's 22 points and 14 rebounds. Esperanza Visbal scored 19 points for the Cardinals.

Game 3 - CCNY 71, Baruch 60

In the third game of the afternoon, #4 seed City College of New York (13-13) took control early with some unselfish play en route to a 71-60 win. CCNY shot 56% from the floor and opened up a 55-31 lead midway through the second half before holding on for the final margin of victory.

Baruch (16-9) picked up its intensity late in the game, converting on several steals to cut the deficit to 11, but that's as close as they came.

Juniors Lauren Cargill and Samantha Halpern, sparked the victorious Beavers throughout the game. The two CUNY All-Stars both finished in double figures as Halpern netted 19 points and eight rebounds while Cargill tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomores Clarice Bell (14 points) and Victoria Rautilia (10 points) also reached double figures for the Beavers.

" We usually rely on our outside shooting, but today we went to our two reliable post players as a focal point of the offense," said CCNY head coach Derrick Harrison. "We are making the extra pass, and our team is having fun with the new style."

The Stateswomen were led by junior Stephanie Trahan with 19 points, four assists, and four steals. Freshman Medicia Jeffrey came off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds while junior Jamees Wright added 10 points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

In Wednesday's semifinal action, CCNY will face the winner of the Hunter - Medgar Evers game in the nightcap at 7:30 pm while Lehman will square off against Staten Island in the opener at 5:30 pm.

Game 4 - Hunter 89, Medgar Evers 46

After trading baskets for the first eight minutes of the nightcap game, Hunter College (20-6) showed why it holds the #1 seed in the CUNYAC Tournament. With the Hawks up 15-13 at the 12 minute mark, head coach Jackee Meadow inserted sophomore sharpshooter Jen Agosto, who promptly drained back-to-back three-pointers that sparked 26 unanswered points which vaulted the Hawks to a 51-17 halftime lead over #8 seed Medgar Evers College.

In the second half, Hunter substituted liberally while attempting to maintain its offensive flow and defensive intensity. The Cougars made things interesting via an assortment of one-on one-move by sophomore guard Rannie Miles, who finished with a game-high 21 points, 13 of them in the second half, and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Medgar Evers (10-17) also received 14 points from Elizabeth Hall. Keisha Toms chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars.

Senior Shevon Collins led Hunter with 18 points while Agosto swished in 17. Sophomore Tania Blanco came off the bench to toss in 12 points while Jezel Rodriguez netted 10 points in the team's 13th consecutive win.

"We just wanted to go out and win," said Agosto. "Our goal is to keep on going until we reach the top. It's definitely great that we're playing the tournament at home, but we're not taking any game lightly."

The Hawks will play CCNY in the semifinal nightcap on Wednesday at 7:30 PM. Lehman faces Staten Island in the semifinal opener at 5:30 PM. Hunter has won 30 straight games at home against conference opponents since January 1998.