The women’s basketball team came up short to Dutchess County Community College its season opener falling 62-39 in the Brookhaven Gymnasium Thursday night.
The Falcons quickly sprinted to a 7-0 lead, but the Sharks clawed their way back to stay in touch. Despite Sharks’ push, the five-women wall of Dutchess County Community College put up a strong fight and pulled away towards the end of the first quarter, going on a 10-point scoring run to go up 21-10.
The Sharks shored up their defense and played a cleaner second quarter, but the Falcons continued to push the pace and balloon out to a 16-point lead by half-time.
“We didn’t give up. We played hard the entire four quarters,” said first-year head coach Rebecca Levy. “What I’m most proud of is that we kept playing. Even when things got a little dicey, a little bit hard, we stayed with it and we didn’t roll over.”
With the encouragement of the fiery SCCC cheer squad, the women entered the second half in more energetic spirits and the determination to cut their opponents lead down.
Late in the fourth, the Sharks were able to cut into their 20-plus point deficit with the help of freshman guard Alyssa Dixon, who put up an offensive clinic, scoring 25 points and shot 53.8% from three-point range. Fellow freshman guard Alexandra Madrigal also played a crucial role, scoring four points, five rebounds and one steal.
“Dixon is great for us. She brings an offensive energy that we need, and we love… She does a lot for us and I’m just really glad she’s here,” Levy said.
The Sharks finished the game with 24 turnovers and 14 personal fouls.
“We need to do a better job taking care of the ball, we had too many turnovers,” Levy said. “Everything needs to be cleaner, crisper. We need to rebound a little bit better throughout the whole game. We did a better job rebounding in the second half, but in the first half we have to come out more aggressive on the boards,” Levy said.
However, the coach said that despite the loss, the players are undeterred.
“They’re hungry. They’re disappointed in the loss, which is good. They should be. They know what they need to work on. We’re gonna get in the gym tomorrow, work on it. And get back on it Saturday,” Levy said. “That’s the beautiful thing about basketball. There’s always another game.”
The Sharks will host Hostos Community College on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Brookhaven Gymnasium.
