Selden, New York - The BMCC women's basketball broke open an 11-11 first-quarter tie, outscoring Suffolk Community College 38-13 in the second and third quarters to pull away from the Sharks for a 66-39 Region XV victory on Saturday afternoon at Brookhaven Gymnasium. The Panther's second victory in their last three games improves their record to 7-12 (7-9 Region XV), while the Sharks fall to 1-16 (2-13 Region XV).
 
The Panthers defeated Suffolk Community College back to back time for the first time since the 2014-15 season and 2016-17 season when they won 62 - 56 on January 29, 2015, and January 26, 2017, 70-48 after both contests were canceled during the 2015-16 season. BMCC also won at Brookhaven Gymnasium for the first time in a decade.

The Panthers had three players score in double figures, with freshman Stephany Coward (Queens, New York) coming off the bench to drop a game and career-high 17 points and knocking down two three-pointers, which was also a game-best. Sophomore Emily Kennedy (Brooklyn, New York) put up her team-leading 19th double-figure game and her 31st straight dating back to the 2022-23 season with 15 points and dished out a game-high seven assists while freshman Kamella Ross (Bronx, New York) also posted her fifth double-figure game and her third in the last four games with 15 points of her own and just missed a double-double by two rebounds grabbing a game-best eight in the contest.

Kennedy also led the Panthers defensively with a game-high five steals and now has a team-high 93 steals on the season which is tied for third most in a single-season.
 
Kennedy stands alone at third all-time in program history with 629 career points and seven points away from second all-time occupied by LaToya Steele, who currently has 636 career points. She is 81 points away from Fanta Sissoko's mark of 710 career points, which is the most in school history. Kennedy's season-best 356 points are now the sixth-most in a single season, surpassing Demaris Andrews's 350 points from last season.
 
She also became the fourth player in program-history to hand out 100 assists in a single-season with a team and season-best 102 dimes this season. Kennedy is third all-time in program history with 143 career steals, fourth all-time in assists with 139, and tied for eighth in career rebounds with Aiyana Harris with 296 career steals.

The Panthers gave out 20 or more assists for the fourth time this season with six different players registering two or more dimes on the day as freshman Sheliyah Jackson (Bronx, New York) had a career-best five assists while classmates Patricia Perez (Brooklyn, New York), Julianna Carrasco (Brooklyn, New York), and Coward had two each. BMCC had their 11th straight game with double digit steals posting 17 steals on the afternoon with four different players snagged two or more in the contest and seven player recording one. Jackson grabbed four steals while classmates Mariah Wigfall (New York, New York) and Coward had three and two, respectively.
 
Wigfall is second with 76 steals which is sixth most in a single season and 10th all-time in program history. Jackson turned away a game-best two shots on the day and now has a team-best 23 blocks which is sixth all-time in program history and eighth most in a single-season.

After both teams played to an 11-11 tie after one quarter, the Panthers got a fast start to the second quarter, holding the Sharks to just five points in the period, opening with an 11-2 run to take the lead by four, 15-11 at 8:22 on a Wigfall jumper then got the lead to as large as 15, 29-14 with 35 seconds left when Kennedy went 1-of-2 at the free throw line before carrying a 29-16 advantage into the halftime break. 

BMCC kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter, outscoring Suffolk Community College 20-8 in the period and getting the lead to 20 for the first time at the 3:54 mark 43-23 on a Wigfall putback and leading 49-24 after three going into the final stanza. The Panthers built the lead to its largest on the day 33, 64-31 at 3:33 on a Coward three-pointer and rolled to a 66-39 victory.
 
Mia Khan and Aaliyah Shorter led all Suffolk Community College scorers with a team-high eight points each, while Jasmine Beverly grabbed a team-best six rebounds, and Shorter grasped a team-best four steals and dished out two assists also a team-best.
 
The Panthers will look to close out their regular season strong on the road against NJCAA Division III No. 12 nationally-ranked Hostos Community College on Tuesday, February 6, at 5 p.m. at the Swamp in the Bronx, New York. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Basketball Schedule Page.


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The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of 13 varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us a https://bmccathletics.com - the official site of BMCC Athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).