New York, New York – The BMCC women's basketball team as they overcame a rusty first half with a dominant second-half effort, including a 53.8% from the field (7-for-13 shooting) in the fourth quarter to grab their first victory of the new year 39-28 against Kingsborough Community College in CUNYAC play on Saturday afternoon at BMCC Gymnasium. The Panthers end a six-game losing skid, improving to 2-10 (2-4 CUNYAC) while the Wave drop to 2-6 (2-4 CUNYAC).

Emily Kennedy (Brooklyn, New York) and Demaris Andrews (Bayonne, New Jersey) accounted for 35 of the Panther's 39 points on the afternoon as Kennedy dropped a career and game-high 21 points, with 17 coming in the second half to also go along with a career and game-best 8-for-19 shooting. Andrews put up her team-best third double-double, bringing down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 14 points, with 11 points coming in the second half.

Andrews also dished out a game-high four assists, while Kennedy and Alicia Tomby (Berbice, Guyana) handed out three apiece. Kennedy also snagged a game-best five steals in the contest and classmate Kayla Rodriguez (Brooklyn, New York) swatted away a game-high three shots.

It was a tale of two halves for BMCC shooting on the afternoon as the Panthers connected on 12-for-28 shooting (42.8% from the field) in the second half after connecting on just three field goals in the first two quarters. The Panthers outscored the Wave 22-14 in the paint and scored 14 points off of 25 Kingsborough turnovers. BMCC outrebounded Kingsborough C.C. on the glass 40-37.

Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first half, with neither squad scoring for the first 7:37 of the first quarter. Kingsborough C.C. finally opened on the scoring at the 7:16 mark of the period on an Elwan free-throw and added five straight points after to build a 6-0 lead at the 3:12 mark. The Panther's points came on a pair of free throws shooting 0-for-13 in the opening period, with Kennedy going two-for-two at the charity stripe at 2:59 to get them on the board, and Andrews connected on a pair of free throws with 48 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to four, 8-4 after one.
BMCC turned it around in the second quarter holding Kingsborough scoreless over the first seven minutes and scoring six consecutive points, with four coming from Kennedy layups to tie it at eight at 8:56 and give the Panthers their first lead of 10-8 at the 3:12 mark. Kingsborough regained the momentum holding BMCC without a field goal for the final 2:54 of the half and scored six of the last seven points to lead 16-11 at halftime.

The Panthers were a different team coming out of the locker room in the second half. BMCC used a 13-1 run - seven points from Kennedy and six points from Andrews - over the first seven minutes to retake the lead 18-17 on an Andrews three-point play at 4:33 and extend it to seven, 24-17 at 2:42 on a three-pointer by Kennedy. The Wave would score the final five points of the period with a three-point play from Victoria Cook with two seconds remaining, making it a one-possession game after three 24-22. Kingsborough got within two twice more in the fourth quarter, with Julia Russo's layup cutting the Panther lead to 26-24 at 7:12 and Elwan's layin making it 28-26 with 4:52 to go. However, the Panthers would close the door with an 11-1 run to capture their largest lead of the game by 11, 39-28, with 23 seconds to go on a Kennedy fastbreak layin to capture their first win in 2023.

Sophomore Hagar Elwan led all Kingsborough Community College scorers with a team-high 12 points, while freshman Victoria Cook brought down a game-high 15 rebounds. Elwan also tied with freshman Angela Macias for steals with three.

The Panthers will look for back-to-back victories for the first time this season when they head up to New Rochelle to take on the top team in Region 15 in the defending champion Monroe Express on Tuesday, January 17 at 6 p.m. at the Monroe Athletic Complex. For more information, visit the BMCC women's basketball schedule page.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of eight varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).