Old Westbury, N.Y. – The Bears jumped into playoffs with a 73-63 victory over the Lions, and are now 18-9 on the season. First-team All-Conference selection, sophomore Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt), Lead the Bears into victory and earned her eight double-double on the season. She has also broken the record for most blocks in a single season.
Ragab came off the bench and put up 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, she also earned four blocks in Tuesday night's game.
"Dina was sensational," said Head Coach Anthony Crocitto. "She scored the ball, grabbed rebounds and blocked shots."
Freshman Maddison Campbell (Victoria, Australia) also stepped up for NYIT. She scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. "Maddie played one of her best, if not her best game in an NYIT uniform.," added Crocitto. "She was great on both ends tonight."
Senior's Alex Venuto (Ossining, N.Y.) and Demitra Apergis (Littleton, Colo.) kept their consistency and aided in the win for NYIT. Ventuo, ECC Honorable Mention, earned 12 points. Apergis, now ranked 8th in the nation in assists, accumulated 7 assists against Molloy.
"Demitra put up some solid numbers tonight," said Crocitto." And she also hit some huge shots at key times."
Although Molloy scoring was evenly distributed, Nicole Arnone led the Lions with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Bears started off with a slow start and were down by six points at the 17-minute mark of the first half. With the lead interchanging five times NYIT final sealed the win at 9:29 in the second half with a lead of 19 points with a three-pointer made by Julie Williams (Smithtown, N.Y.) and assisted by Apergis.
"Our staff and administration helped create one of the best basketball environments I have ever been a part of on any level," expressed Crocitto. "I am proud to be at NYIT, proud to be a Bear, as tonight was a special night with an unbelievable crowd."
Provided by the NYIT Sports Information Department.
