Women’s Basketball open season with win over Spartans

(Herkimer's Angela Porcelli had 11 points against the Spartans on Tuesday).

(Herkimer's Kristy Wallace sinks the jumper, giving Herkimer a 26-18 lead early in the third quarter).

HERKIMER, NY – Playing in their first regular season game with a new head coach, the Herkimer Generals women’s basketball team started off slow, but came on late, defeating Cayuga Community College 57-40 in regulation Tuesday (11/3) at home.

Herkimer (1-0) managed five points in the first quarter, three of them coming from the charity stripe, but held the Spartans to six points total. That changed in the second, outscoring Cayuga 18-to-9 with a big contribution from sophomore Chelsea Jory (Herkimer, NY) early. With the team only up by one (7-6), the forward sank two field goals and two foul shots to keep the game close before Khristaijah Jackson (Philadelphia, PA), Alexia Patterson (Utica, NY), Olivia Fitzgerald (Lyons Falls, NY), DaKara Spence (Beacon, NY), Dahnasia Williams (Albany, NY) and Emerald Pett (Utica, NY) built a 10-point lead into halftime thanks to a 10-0 run in the last six minutes. Jory finished with nine, Jackson had a team-high 17, Patterson had two, Fitzgerald had two, Spence had three, Williams had seven and Pett had two.

Helping increase the lead to 18 points (36-18) in the third was freshman Angela Porcelli (Marlboro, NY). The freshman sank three-point field goals on consecutive possessions, on her way to 11 points, leading the team with three three-point field goals. The closest it got in the final 10 minutes was 14 points (45-31), but baskets by Jackson, Porcelli and Williams kept the Spartans at bay (Williams scored all of her seven point in the contest in the final three minutes of regulation).

Up next for the Generals is Jefferson Community College, beginning the season with three consecutive home games. The Cannoneers are 1-1, losing recently to Mohawk Valley 56-39. Herkimer will host Jefferson in the varsity gym on Saturday (11/7) at 1 p.m.    

Score:

Herkimer Generals 57, Cayuga Spartans 40

GENERALS (1-0) Kristaijah Jackson 17, Angela Porcelli 11, Chelsea Jory 9, Dahnasia Williams 7, Emerald Pett 3, DaKara Spence 3, Kristy Wallace 2, Alexia Patterson 2, Olivia Fitzgerald 2. Total 18-14-57

SPARTANS (0-1) Najhea Thompson 15, Lakin Mueller 10, Maxine Williams 8, Samantha Relfe 3, Cheyenne Rivenburg 2. Totals 12-11-40

3-Point goals: Cayuga 5 (Thompson 4, Mueller 1), Herkimer 3 (Porcelli 3)

Halftime:

Herkimer 24-14 

Next Game: 11/7 vs. Jefferson 1 p.m.

-Giorgio Varlaro