WBB Falls to CCNY

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College women's basketball team lost to visiting City College of New York on Tuesday night by a final score of 73-57 at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Ashley Straughn led four Beavers in double figures with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and added two blocks and a steal. Freshman Kaylee Cerruto paced the Mariners with a career-high 19 points.

Trailing 14-13 midway through the first half, CCNY (2-5 overall) vaulted into the lead behind a 10-0 run. The Beavers took their biggest lead of the stanza at 30-18 with just under five minutes to play before intermission.

Mitchell (0-5 overall) fought back in the final five minutes, scoring 12 straight points to tie the game at 30-30 with 1:24 to go. Cerruto scored seven points during the stretch and tied the game with a jumper. However, CCNY recovered to score a bucket in the final seconds of the half to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.

The Beavers made a push just five minutes into the second half. With the score tied at 40-40, CCNY reeled off nine straight points and never looked back. The Beavers increased the lead to double digits on a jumper by Tai-Danae Bradley with 7:31 to play and led by as many as 20 points in the late stages.

Donika Rexhepi finished with 14 points and six assists while Simone Tharkur added 11 points and five rebounds. Rynae Rasley had 10 points and six rebounds to round of the Beavers' double-figure scorers.

CCNY shot 46 percent for the game and held a 51-41 advantage on the glass. Mitchell shot just 31 percent but forced 31 turnovers.

Junior Alix O'Neil finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, one shy of her career high. Classmate Brittany Smyth and senior Jen Iglesias each had eight points to aid the Mariners.

Mitchell opens conference play on Saturday, December 12 at Southern Vermont College at 1 p.m.