Women’s Basketball

By Michael Otero
Sports Editor

After a slow start to their season opener, the Pioneers suffered a loss to Pace University by a score of 71-56. In their Saturday, Nov. 14 matchup, the team got out of the gate sluggish and found itself in a double-digit hole in the first 10 minutes. Pace used that momentum from the opening minutes and carried it with them into the second quarter.

At halftime, LIU was staring at a 41-18 deficit. Needing some kind ofspark to ignite the offense, the jump shots began to fall as the Pioneers cut the 23-point lead down to 18. Their hot shooting continued into the fourth quarter and a 7-0 run early gave the Green and Gold a glimmer of hope; but it was all for not.

Pace settled down and made clutch shots to keep their lead safe. For the Pioneers, freshman guard Kyla Formey had a team-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds while senior guard Quanisha Ratley added 14 points. Fellow senior, Nyasia Davis, added nine points and a presence in the paint with two blocks.

The Pioneers sought their first victory of the season against Adelphi University the next day. In that battle, the Pioneers suffered a similar fate, losing a tightly contested game 63-55. Adelphi, who had the lead
for a majority of the game, shot a higher percentage from the field, but kept LIU in the game thanks to turnovers. The Pioneers, who scored 17 points of those turnovers, got big help from their bench, which totaled 21

points. The game came down to the final minutes, but Adelphi was able to execute down the stretch and nail free throws to put the game away. The Pioneers were led in the scoring department by junior forward Janaysia James who poured in 18 and also grabbed seven boards. On the other side of the ball, junior forward Sierra Clark had a game-high 27 points along with three steals while graduate guard Ashley Gomez totaled 16 points and led the team in assists with five.

The Pioneers will search for their first win of the season when they travel to Philadelphia to play Holy Family University on Saturday, Nov. 21. Opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.