OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — The third-seeded NYIT women's basketball team defeated sixth-seeded Bridgeport, 70-57, in the East Coast Conference tournament on Wednesday night at Recreation Hall to advance to the semifinals.
The Bears will face second-seeded Daemen on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Bridgeport's Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium.
Top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas faces No. 4 LIU Post in the other ECC semifinal. The Pioneers defeated No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan, 74-70, in an ECC quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
NYIT split the season series with Daemen during the regular season, winning 84-46 at Recreation Hall on Dec. 16 and losing 54-38 in Amherst on Feb. 17. The 38-point output in the latter contest was a season low for the Bears.
NYIT, which has reached two straight ECC finals, improved to 21-8 overall with Wednesday's victory.
Bridgeport stormed to an 11-2 first-quarter lead. And NYIT did not take its first lead until Ketsia Athias' layup with 4:08 remaining in the second quarter put NYIT ahead, 24-22.
The Bears built a nine-point lead by halftime. Bridgeport got no closer than four points in the fourth quarter.
Meg Knollmeyer posted her 11th double-double of the season with a team-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds. Shaile Frierson added 14 points. Athias had 13 rebounds.
Julia Braungart logged 14 minutes in her return after missing 13 games with a fractured right pinkie.
Provided by the NYIT Sports Information Department.
