Bloodhounds Take Bite Out of Bridges, Brooklyn Season Ends

ERIC FAYNBERG

STAFF WRITER

On Saturday, February 17^th, the Brooklyn College Lady Bridges’ season came to an end at the City College of New York, where they were eliminated from the CUNYAC playoff tournament, losing to the John Jay Lady Bloodhounds by the score of 77-63. 

“They were just so much bigger and stronger,” said sophomore forward Ryane Hecker. Her remark summed up the Bloodhounds well, as it was the tremendous physical advantage that John Jay had over Brooklyn that allowed them to prevail, despite a valiant effort by the Bridges.

Coming into the game, the Bridges were ranked as the 7^th seed in the tournament, while John Jay was seeded 2^nd. In a previous match-up between the two teams during the regular season, John Jay prevailed by a score of 72-45, though Brooklyn had more or less kept up with the Bloodhounds in the first half of that game.

This second contest between the two teams had a similar storyline. Brooklyn did a great job of keeping pace early on with the Bloodhounds, who were led by the domineering tandem of 5’11” Lashannen Hogue and 6’0” Melissa Escalera, both First Team CUNYAC All-Stars. In the second half, however, much like in the first game, John Jay was able to pull away, though this time the final score was much closer than in the previous affair.

“We tried to use a zone defense against them and to press their guards,” explained Hecker. “But they were just two big.”

Amalea Sideris, another of the forwards for the Bridges who had the unfortunate task of having to match up with John Jay’s top players, agreed.

“It was a very physical game. It was tough, we just don’t have as much size as they do.” Brooklyn did try several defensive schemes during the game, and on several occasions were able to disrupt the offense of the Bloodhounds, but John Jay would find ways to break the various presses.

“We thought that we could use our quickness to beat them, we are a faster team then they are. Even though we were underdogs, we were confident that we had a chance to win,” Hecker remarked. The Bridges used their quickness to their advantage throughout the game, and it was that speed that was a big reason for why they were able to stay in the game as long as they did.

Despite the loss, Hecker had one of her more effective performances of the season. “It was a tough game, and Escalera and the rest of them are really competitive and vocal on the court. I was really fired up.” Hecker played tenacious defense and battled for loose balls and rebounds on every play. In one instance, Hecker sacrificed her body diving to the floor to try and get a loose ball amid a mess of other players and in one of the best moments of the game, Hecker recorded a monstrous block on a John Jay player.

Aside from Hecker’s play, another bright spot regarding the team also deserves mention. Jaclyn Cavalcante became just the second player in Brooklyn College history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career during the game. Cavalcante, along with freshman Christina McDonnell, led the way offensively for the Bridges all season long. “It was really exciting, we were all really happy for her,” said Sideris. “It was a positive thing despite the loss.” Hecker had similar sentiments.

Though their season is done, the Lady Bridges have a lot to be proud of. They made the playoffs, despite a series of roster turnovers and some unfortunate injuries throughout the regular season, managing to put up a good fight against one of the best teams in the conference.