Finger Lakes Downs Cayuga in 4th Quarter Rally

A late rally from Finger Lakes Community College ruined a strong effort from the Cayuga Community College Women's Basketball Team on Wednesday in the Spartans' final home game of the regular season.

Despite leading going into the fourth quarter, foul trouble and a scuffling offense hurt Cayuga, helping the Lakers leave Spartan Hall with a 58-52 victory. The final gave the Lakers (8-16, 4-7) a season sweep of Cayuga and left the Spartans with a 7-14 overall record and a 3-7 mark in the Mid-State Athletic Conference.

"I thought we played really hard, and it was disappointing how it ended. We have to do a better job of keeping our composure and playing through things we can't control. We can control how hard we play and how we execute," said Cayuga Coach Jim Alberici.

Even first and second quarters left the Spartans with a 32-28 lead at halftime. Cayuga forwards Jania Freeman and Gretchen Earl combined for 17 points in the first half to lead the Spartans' offense.

The game became more physical in the final two quarters, with the Spartans running into foul trouble but still leading after the third quarter. However, Cayuga struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers took the lead for good with less than five minutes remaining.

Freeman led Cayuga with 15 points to go with nine rebounds, Earl finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Fatimaah Findley had 10 points. Tanyea Jansson led Cayuga with 10 rebounds, and Tori Mandel finished with three points, five rebounds, six assists and six steals.

The Spartans have two games remaining in the regular season, both road contests. The first is Saturday when Cayuga travels to Tompkins Cortland Community College to play the Panthers (3-15, 1-9). Cayuga defeated Tompkins 79-57 earlier this season. Tip-off is 2 p.m.