Lady Knights breeze by Bayhawks

The CCRI Lady Knights basketball team hosted the Bayhawks of Bristol Community College from Fall River, Massachusetts, for a Region XXI non-league game. CCRI defeated the Bayhawks, 93-59. With the victory, the Lady Knights improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in Region XXI play.   

The Lady Knights, as always, had the challenge of trying to take their attack to a much taller team, but it did not take long for CCRI to find its groove. In the first quarter, the Lady Knights’ co-captains Tiondra Hands (Boynton, Beach, Florida) and Kelsey Hernandez (New Britain, Connecticut) each scored seven points with two baskets and a 3-pointer apiece to give CCRI a 20-13 lead.

In the second quarter, the Lady Knights kept the pedal to the metal, scoring 24 more points while holding the Bayhawks to just 10 to take a commanding, 47-23 lead. CCRI was helped in large part by the scoring of sophomore transfer Nia Mims (Newark, New Jersey), who scored a quarter-high 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and four points apiece from Hands, Hernandez and freshman Kat Raposo (Warwick, Rhode Island).

In the third quarter, CCRI had a comfortable lead, and the offense only scored 17 points, while Bristol scored 18, led by freshman Iris Rivera, who scored 16 of her 25 second-half points in that quarter, but CCRI still held a 64-41 lead going into the fourth. 

Bristol and Rivera kept scoring in the fourth quarter, so CCRI ratcheted-up its offense as well, scoring 29 points, led by sophomore D’Asia Allen (Providence, Rhode Island), who scored 11 points. With the big quarter, CCRI cruised to the 93-59 victory.

Leading the way for the Lady Knights was Mims with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, three assists and three steals. 

Also helping CCRI was Allen with a season-high 16 points, including two 3-pointers, six rebounds, three assists and two steals and Hernandez with a season-high 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Rounding out the top performers for CCRI were Hands with 11 points, three assists and three steals, Jada Littlejohn (Providence, Rhode Island) with nine points and six assists, Waleska Kelly (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) with eight points, including two 3-pointers and five rebounds, and Raposo added seven points with four rebounds and two assists. Rivera of the Bayhawks led all scorers with 27 points. 

The next game for the Lady Knights will be Thursday when they will travel to play Gateway Community College for a Region XXI non-league game in New Haven, Connecticut, at 6 p.m. as part of a doubleheader, as the men’s team will play Gateway at 8 p.m.