Lady Bulldogs fall in CUNYAC semis

Brooklyn College loses to second-seeded Baruch

February 27, 2014 by John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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If it weren’t for local powerhouse Baruch College, the Lady Bulldogs of Brooklyn College could be in the midst of a dynasty of their own.

Unfortunately for coach Alex Lang’s unit, however, the Bearcats once again stood in the way of a potential CUNYAC championship.

Junior Nicole Francomano scored nine points and dished out six assists and classmate Asia Foster ripped down 10 boards as BC suffered a 65-49 loss to their perennial rivals in the league tournament semifinals Wednesday night in front of 479 fans at CCNY’s Nat Holman Gymnasium.

The painful defeat marked the third straight season that the Bulldogs have been eliminated from tournament play by the Bearcats, including back-to-back championship game losses in each of the previous two years.

Baruch is going to its ninth consecutive CUNYAC title game on Friday night against Hunter at Holman.

BC had won five games in a row, including Sunday’s 54-36 triumph over John Jay College in the CUNYAC quarterfinals, before falling well short of a third straight trip to the title game with Wednesday’s defeat to Baruch.

Despite the loss, the Bulldogs are probably not done playing this year.

They will now await a possible bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Championships. The eight-team tournament field will be announced on Monday with quarterfinal play beginning next Wednesday.

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In other local women’s college hoops news, St. Francis junior guard Eilidh Simpson took home Northeast Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, the league announced Monday.

Simpson, who also received the honor on Dec. 23, user her magical shooting touch to lift the record-setting Terriers to a pair of victories.

She averaged 24.5 points over the two-game stretch, hitting 57.1 percent of her field-goal attempts, including a dazzling 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

Simpson scored a team-high 22 points in last week’s 82-74 win over St. Francis (Pa.) and added a career-high 27 in the Terriers’ thrilling overtime victory against NEC-leading Robert Morris. She also went a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line in the two games.

With a program-record 18 wins, the Terriers have already clinched a spot in next month’s NEC Tournament.