The CCRI Lady Knights basketball team hosted the Pointers from the University of Connecticut at Avery Point (UCAP) Thursday evening for a Region XXI non-league game. The Lady Knights defeated the Pointers, 88-84, in overtime. With the victory the Lady Knights improved to 14-15 on the season and 5-5 in Region XXI play. 

For the second game in a row, the Lady Knights were locked in a hotly-contested overtime regional contest, but this time the Lady Knights came out on top with a tremendous team effort. CCRI was out to exact revenge on the Pointers, who beat the Lady Knights 73-62 back in November. The Lady Knights came out of the gates shooting well with back-to-back 3-pointers from Kennethah Harden (Roosevelt, N.Y.) and Mackenzie Brayman (North Stonington, Conn.), while the Pointers’ Felicia Cabral answered with a 3 of her own to make the score 6-3 in the early going. Both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first quarter with CCRI taking a small, 19-17 lead after the first. The Lady Knights played very well in the second quarter, paced by the play of Carol Rodriguez (Pawtucket, R.I.), who scored eight points and Lyric Artis (Albany, N.Y.), who added six to extend their lead to 10 points, 38-28, at halftime.

In the third quarter Avery Point channeled its sister school, UConn Huskies, with a suffocating full-court man press that totally stifled the CCRI attack. UCAP started the quarter with a 15-0 run to take a 5-point lead, 43-38, four minutes into the quarter. UCAP kept the pressure on and extended the lead to nine points, outscoring CCRI 25-6 in the quarter with all six Lady Knights’ points coming from Harden.

Trailing by nine points going into the fourth, the Lady Knights needed to dig deep to find an answer. To begin the quarter Brayman asserted herself offensively and got to the foul line twice, while Harden scored on an array of inside post moves. CCRI cut into the UCAP lead but still trailed by five points with just over a minute left. Rodriguez made a basket to cut it to three points, followed by the second 3-pointer of the quarter from Maritza Gustave (Fall River, Mass.) to tie the game, 69-69, with under a minute left. UCAP answered with a basket from its high-scorer, Felicia Cabral, who had 28 points for the contest to make the score 69-71 with less than 30 seconds remaining. CCRI then turned the ball over, needing a defensive stop with the shot clock turned off. CCRI also had fouls to give, which it used to make it more difficult for the Pointers to get into their offense. With about 10 seconds on the clock and UCAP inbounding at half court, Alexis Antonacci (Plainview, N.Y.) stole the pass and weaved her way into the key and found an open Brayman, who finished in the paint to tie the score, 71-71, with 5.6 seconds left. UCAP’s Jess Korzec dribbled coast-to-coast to attempt a game-winning layup, but Rodriguez channeled her inner volleyball player to block her shot emphatically and send the game to overtime tied at 71. Having just played an overtime game, CCRI was poised to make a statement and close out this victory. 

The Lady Knights closed out the game scoring 17 points in the 5-minute overtime period to win by the final count of 88-84.

Leading the way for the Lady Knights was Harden with her second 30-point game in a row, scoring a game-high 32 with 11 rebounds while adding four steals and three assists. Harden’s single-season rebound record now stands at 369 for the season, while she has scored 533 points to put her at No. 23 on the CCRI all-time scoring list, passing Jenny Kinney, who scored 515 points. Rodriguez had another excellent game, charting a double-double while scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Brayman, a Connecticut native, also played well versus the Pointers, scoring 14 points with 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime when CCRI needed it most. Also helping CCRI was Artis with 13 points, six assists, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, Gustave with six points on two fourth quarter 3-pointers and 11 rebounds and Antonacci added six points, six assists, four rebounds and a key steal.

The Lady Knights were set to take on rival Dean on Wednesday, but results were unavailable at press time.