Albany, NY—The Sage College's women's basketball team hosted the Raptors of Bard College on Thursday night in a rescheduled non-conference contest. Sage posted the 56-48 win to record a program-best 18th win on the season. Sage is now 18-5 on the year and riding a school record 12-game win streak. Bard drops to 4-20 on the year. The 18 wins surpasses the mark set by last year's NCAA tournament team that went 17-11.
Senior guard Megan Bowman (Dannemora, NY/Saranac) finished with 14 points in the action and moved into the No. 3 spot on the Gator all-time career scoring list as she moved ahead of Elizabeth Pearl (1,026, 1987-1991). Bowman now has 1,038 career points after adding eight second half points to help the Gators get by Bard. Also the program's all-time leader in assists, she added one assist with five steals and now has 439 assists and is No. 2 in career steals with 251.
Senior guard Lea McClain (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) added 10 points with four rebounds, while senior center Amie Jefferson (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) tallied nine points and eight rebounds in the contest with one blocked shot. Jefferson holds the Gator career block mark with her 159 blocks and is No. 2 in career rebounding with 769 rebounds. Senior Sara Tironi (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge Central) added six points with five boards, elevating her career resume to include 602 points and 408 rebounds in three seasons at Sage.
Bard's junior forward Tytravia Riley (Miami, FL/Gulliver Prep) finished with a double-double pouring in 17 points with a game-high 21 rebounds. Already Bard's all-time leading scorer, she now has 1,167 points on her career. Junior point guard Bianka Bell (Stamford, CT/Notre Dame-Fairfield) also added 17 points for the Raptors.
Bard led the entire first half until sophomore Krystyn Knockwood (Troy, NY/Troy) hit a layup with 0:04 before the break to give Sage a 24-23 lead at the half. Sage opened the second half and led until the Raptors tied the contest at 10:20 (35-35). Riley helped to spur a Raptor run and gave Bard a three-point lead (40-37, 7:35) before a Bowman layup followed by a steal and a layup by Knockwood gave Sage a 41-40 lead and the game was never tied after that point.
Sage returns to action on February 21 travelling to Farmingdale State College for the 2014-2015 regular-season finale, while Bard College returns to action on February 22 visiting RPI for a 2 p.m.