Women's Basketball Upsets Farmingdale
Lady Jays Defeat Reigning Champs
FARMINGDALE, NY - Thursday night's Skyline Conference tilt against Farmingdale wasn't just an early season test for the NYU-Poly women's basketball team; it was a test to see if the Lady Jays have risen to the top of the Skyline elite. Consider the test passed as NYU-Poly picked up a huge road win over Farmingdale 49-43 and remained undefeated at the top of the SKyline at 4-0.
Despite falling behind 11-0 - an eerily similar start to last year's visit to Farmingdale where the Lady Jays managed just eight points the entire first half - NYU-Poly chipped away at the lead to only trail 26-19. Farmingdale held NYU-Poly to 24% shooting in the first half.
The second half was a completely different story, as NYU-Poly (6-1 overall) outscored the Lady Rams 30-17, enough to pull off the road upset. The win for NYU-Poly was the first-ever over Farmingdale.
The game was tied 39-39 until NYU-Poly's Tabitha Larsen (Ramsey, N.J.) hit a three-pointer off Kristin Leitheuser's (Spring Valley, NY) pass, giving the Fighting Blue Jays a 42-39 edge with 6:53 to play. Neither team would score over the next 4:17 until Farmingdale senior guard Juanita Chappel hit a layup to pull the Rams within one. Leitheuser was fouled on NYU-Poly's next possession and hit both free-throws, giving her team a 44-41 advantage with 2:19 remaining in the game. Trailing 45-41, Chappel scored on a layup for the Rams, but the Fighting Blue Jays hit their final four free-throws to earn the 49-43 Skyline win.
Farmingdale State was led by Chappel who scored a team-high 13 points, had seven rebounds, five steals and three assists. Leitheuser had a game-high 18 points, while junior forward Margaux Pickell (Howell, N.J.) had nine points and 10 boards for NYU-Poly.
