Brockport, NY – The Sage College's women's basketball team posted a 69-61 win over Alfred University on Sunday on the second day of the 2014 Brockport State Tip-Off Tournament. The victory was the first career win for the Gator rookie head coach Allison Coleman and puts Sage at 1-1 on the young season. Alfred drops to 0-2 on the year.
"We were able to withstand a few of Alfred's runs in the first and second halves," noted coach Coleman. "She added,"There were times when we could have put the game away but Alfred came back with a run of their own to get right back into it. I am proud of the team for responding the way that we did and never relinquishing our lead. They showed a lot of resiliency and were able to come up with a key basket or stop on the defensive end when we needed it most."
Senior forward and team tri-captain, Amie Jefferson (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) poured in a double-double as she finished the day with a team-best 17 points and hauled in 13 rebounds. She added three blocked shots as well in leading the team to the win. Sage held a 30-27 lead at the break and never trailed in the action. Twice the Gators led by as many as 14 points, the second coming in the second half, up 48-34 with 14:18 left to play.
Jefferson just missed tying her personal best (18 points) as she shot 6-10 from the floor and had eight defensive boards to go with her two steals, two assists, and three blocked shots. Already the Gators' career block leader, Jefferson now has 128 blocks, while adding 452 points and 569 rebounds in her tenure. She is making her climb toward the career rebounding record as she is No. 4 and is closing in on the No. 3 spot held by Elizabeth Pearl (591, 1987-1991). For her efforts on the opening weekend, Jefferson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Senior Megan Bowman (Dannemora, NY/Saranac) finished the action with 14 points, while handing out five assists and picking off four steals. Sage's sophomore guard Frankie Pearson (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) scored 12 points with four steals, while junior forward Sara Tironi (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge Central) netted 11 points with five rebounds.
Bowman now has 741 career points and stands at the No. 10 spot on Sage's scoring list. She has also racked up 327 career assists and 191 career steals, good enough for the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively in program history in the two categories.
Sage will travel to Western Connecticut State University for a 5:30 p.m. match-up with the Colonials on November 19. The Gators will host SUNY-Cobleskill on November 22 in the team's 2014-2015 home opener in Kahl Gym at 2 p.m.
