Posted: Jan 16, 2020

Strong Second Half Pushes Spartans Past Hornets

First-year guard Tori Mandel finished with 13 points in Cayuga's win over SUNY Broome. Her three-point field goal early in the fourth quarter gave the Spartans their first lead of the game.

The Cayuga Community College Women's Basketball Team overcame a slow start to overpower the SUNY Broome Hornets in the second half on Thursday, giving the Spartans their second conference win of the season.

Trailing by nine at halftime and struggling on offense, the Spartans came alive in the third quarter and held on through the fourth for a 51-45 victory. The win pushes the Spartans to a 2-1 record in the Mid-State Athletic Conference and a 6-7 overall record.

"I'm really proud of the way we battled back. We weren't having a great day, but we played really hard in the second half and held them to 17 points. That's a very good half of basketball. It's very exciting to get the win and to get to 2-1 in the conference," said Coach Jim Alberici.

Broome used three-point field goals against Cayuga's zone defense to build an 18-10 lead in the first quarter. Cayuga struggled from the field, with forward Gretchen Earl keeping the Spartans close with six points.

Cayuga shifted to a man-to-man defense in the second quarter and held the Hornets scoreless for almost six minutes. The Spartans continued to struggle offensively, however, and were only able to cut the lead to 18-11 halfway through the quarter. Cayuga trailed the Hornets 28-19 at the half.

Roles switched in the second half, as Cayuga's defense improved and their offense jump-started. The Spartans controlled the third quarter, holding Broome to just six points and cutting the Hornets' advantage to 34-32 going into the fourth quarter.

First-year Cayuga guard Tori Mandel gave Cayuga the lead for good early in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer. The Spartans continued to control the game defensively as their lead grew to seven points with less than four minutes remaining.

A late Broome run cut the score to 44-41, but consecutive baskets by Cayuga forward Jania Freeman and free throws from Earl and Mandel iced the game for the Spartans.

Earl finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Mandel had eight rebounds and 13 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. Brianna Hirschman had three assists and three rebounds along with nine points, and Freeman finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Cayuga heads to Finger Lakes Community College for a road conference contest on Saturday, January 18. Tip-off is 1 p.m.