BROOKLYN -- On the verge of entering halftime trailing by double figures in the team's regular season finale, Pratt rattled off a 22-0 run upon junior Carol Cai's entry, turning a first-half scare into a second-half scoring binge in her team's 53-34 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over The King's College.
Cai (West Covina, CA/Rowland) led all players with 19 points on 6-14 shooting, 2-5 from three-point range, and 5-5 from the free throw line, adding five assists and four rebounds in only 21 minutes. Sophomore Amissa Epperson (Jersey City, NJ/McNair) rebounded after picking up four fouls in the game's first 13:55, finishing with 18 points and game-bests of 14 rebounds, six blocks, and six steals.
Four straight King's free throws from Anna Eaves started a 12-0 run that turned the Cannoneers 8-5 lead into a nine-point deficit. Cai, inserted in the final 1:01 of the first half when trailing 17-8, scored two of Pratt's four straight in the final 46 seconds of the half to close within 17-13 at the break. For the half, the Cannoneers shot just nine percent (3-31), a figure that would be more than quadrupled for the second half.
Upon the return of Cai, Pratt's primary ball handler and a key cog to the team's full-court press, a Cai layup was bookended by Epperson baskets, the second of which gave Pratt an 18-17 lead 1:59 into the third. Back-to-back Epperson jumpers in the paint were followed by a layup and a three-pointer from Cai, extending Pratt's lead to 30-17 with 4:55 left in the frame and capping a 22-0 run in just 6:06.
The game-changing run was propelled by pressure that forced 11 King's turnovers in the third quarter alone, with Pratt outscored the visitors 25-4 for the period. After the team's putrid first half output, the Cai and the Cannoneers shot 38 percent in the third and 41 percent (17-42) in the second half overall, putting the game out of reach in the first five minutes of the half.
In all, Pratt forced 39 Lions turnovers, 32 in the first 30 minutes. In addition to Epperson's six steals, sophomore Jennifer Klockner (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) snagged six of her own, and junior Anna Bryce (Troy, NY/Albany Academy) added five.
Eaves led King's (2-7, 0-6 HVIAC) with nine points, and Kara Simmons totaled team-highs of eight rebounds and four assists.
At 7-6 and 3-3 in HVIAC play, Pratt will take on top-seeded Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Saturday, February 21 in the first round of the HVIAC Tournament at The College of New Rochelle.
