By Eldridg Chavez
It's February 23, 2018. We're at the Nat Holman Gymnasium at City College, New York, New York. The top-seeded Brooklyn College women's basketball team has just ended a 38-year title drought, defeating the reigning CUNYAC champion College of Staten Island Dolphins, 59-50. Before we find out how this rematch from last season's final reached its dramatic conclusion, let's see how we got here first.
After losing the CUNYAC final for a third straight year, the Bulldogs went into the 2017-18 season as the hunter.
Returning for the Bulldogs was senior and captain,
Karen Mak. Mak was a First Team CUNYAC All-Star in 2018, leading Brooklyn in scoring, assists, and steals while averaging six rebounds per game. The product from Eleanor Roosevelt High School also recorded her first career triple-double against Baruch College on Jan. 13, 2018 with 19 points, 11 assists, and 10 steals.
Bulldogs' head coach Alex Lang and his staff's recruiting efforts have been extremely impressive during his tenure. Time and time again, incoming freshmen have made an immediate impact for his program. This was evident in his recruitment of freshmen
Taylor George and
Chanel Jemmott to an already deep veteran lineup.
George was impressive from the start, earning CUNYAC Rookie of the Week honors four times in her first season. She ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game, and led all conference rookies in field goal percentage (45-percent). For her efforts, George was voted CUNYAC Rookie of the Year.
Jemmott was a force in the paint, leading the club in total rebounds (259), averaging 11.8 points per game while shooting an impressive 49% from the field. In her collegiate debut, Jemmott grabbed 21 rebounds against Kean University.
On Feb. 8, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released its first Division III Atlantic Region basketball rankings and Brooklyn came in at No. 2 in the poll with a region-best 19-2 in-division record.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season 22-3 overall with a 14-2 mark in conference play. It signaled a seventh consecutive year with 20 or more victories. Lang and the Bulldogs sat at No. 4 in the regional rankings at season's end. Under his tutelage, Brooklyn held opponents to 50.2 points per game, the lowest in the league, earning CUNYAC Coach of the Year recognition.
With the best record in the conference, the Bulldogs hosted No. 4 seed Hunter College in the CUNYAC tournament. Both sides had a tough shooting night, as Brooklyn shot 38% and the Hawks shot 27.4% from the field, respectively.
Trailing the Hawks 22-18, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to grab a 27-24 halftime advantage. Brooklyn made its move halfway through the third quarter, using a 7-0 run to take a 42-31 lead with 2:47 remaining. George knocked down a three during the rally to put the Bulldogs up nine.
Holding onto a 61-57 lead with less than 10 seconds to go in the game, Brooklyn connected on three clutch free throws to put the game out of reach for the Hawks, 64-57.
In the championship final, Brooklyn ended the first half on a 12-1 run, taking a 25-13 lead into intermission.
CSI opened the second half with a 14-1 run to take its first lead, 30-29, with 4:58 left in the third quarter. However, a 10-0 run from Brooklyn, highlighted by a George three-point field goal, gave the Bulldogs a 43-33 advantage and the lead for good heading into the final quarter. George finished with 15 points, shooting a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc in the contest.
Brooklyn held CSI to 27% shooting from the field for the evening and limited Dolphins' standout and CUNYAC Player of the Year,
Christina Pasaturo, to 4-24 from the floor.
Jemmott registered a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 boards to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors. "I just try my best to hustle and get every rebound I can," Jemmott said. "I know I am not the tallest out there, but I know I can get position and get a rebound. Rebounding helps my team the most, so that's what I want to do. Anything I can do to help my team is what I want to do."
Brooklyn hoisted its first conference championship trophy in over three decades. "Our goal coming into the season was to win a championship," Lang said. "We had a very new team from last year, but our focus never wavered throughout the year. We had a very determined group. This is a great moment for them. They represented being a Bulldog in the best way they could."
CUNYAC Throwback Series