It wasn’t pretty, but the Bobcats got the job done in their 58-41 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves on Thursday night at Lender Court. The Bobcats then traveled to Worcester, Mass., and took care of the Holy Cross Crusaders 85-66 on Saturday.
On Thursday, with both teams going through the motions in the first few minutes of the game, the Bobcats (4-1) held an 8-5 adavantage after the first five minutes. The Seawolves made a few fast break lay-ups as the Bobcats were sluggish getting back on defense. After a timeout, the Bobcats tightened up their defense and went on a 24-5 run sparked by 3-pointers by Mandy Pennewell, who shot 3-5 from behind the arc in the first half. The Bobcats went into the locker room up 41-18.
Pennewell credited her teammates for her offensive surge at the end of the first half.
“We knew we had a lead,” Pennewell said. “My teammates were getting me the ball.”
Coach Tricia Fabbri felt that her team’s defense was a big part of their run to close out the first half.
“Our defense was a good catalyst,” Fabbri said. “We settled down, and were able to play our game.”
At the start of the second half, both the Bobcats and Seawolves came out of the gates flat footed. The Bobcats woke up and went on a 10-2 run, scoring on a couple of fast break lay-ups from Erin Kerner and Brianna Rooney. The Bobcats began to turn the ball over on multiple possessions, allowing the Seawolves to gain some momentum. To the dismay of Fabbri, the Bobcats appeared to lose the intensity they had to close out the first half.
“Our intensity matched our opponents,” Fabbri said. “At times, we feed off the good, and other times we feed off the bad.”
The Seawolves made a run with about 4:48 left in the second half. They were able to cut what was once a 27 point lead to an 18 point lead at 54-36. However, their offensive struggles continued and the Bobcats were able to close out the game.
For the game, the Seawolves only shot a meager 23 percent from the field while the Bobcats shot 36 percent.
Pennewell finished with a game-high 15 points. Erin Kerner added 10. Brianna Rooney and Monique Lee each had 10 points for the Bobcats.
On Saturday, the Bobcats extended their winning steak to three games with their win over Holy Cross.
Kerner led the way for the Bobcats with a season-high 24 points and five assists Brianna Rooney chipped in 11 points and Courtney Kaminski added 10 points in the winning effort.
The Crusaders took a 35-33 lead heading into the half. The Bobcats used a 19-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game with a 52-37 lead.
The Bobcats return to action on Wednesday when they take on St. Francis (N.Y.) in their NEC opener.
