Women's Basketball Continues Hot Streak; Extend Winning Streak to Six With Victory over St. Francis (N.Y.)

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12/7/06 -- Long Island University gutted out a 59-54 win over local rival St. Francis (N.Y.) in the 14th annual Battle of Brooklyn to extend its winning streak to six games. The Blackbirds came from behind to upend the Terriers for their first Northeast Conference victory of the season. Freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) scored a game-high 22 points and was named the most valuable player as Long Island 6-3 (1-0 NEC) defended its Battle of Brooklyn crown.

St. Francis took a nine-point lead in the first half, but the Blackbirds refused to back down and used a pestering defensive to whittle the Terrier edge to four points at the half. Long Island kept chipping away and took its first lead of the game with a pair of Nainima free throws with 14 minutes left in the second stanza.

From there, the contest seesawed back and forth as the lead changed four times. The Blackbirds stepped up defensively and managed to gain a four-point advantage when junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) scored on a fast-break layup. The Terriers came right back with a pair of layups by 6-foot-7 center Katja Bavendam.

St. Francis (2-6, 0-1) retook the lead with a free throw by Sarah Bratton, but a three-pointer by Nainima off a Whippy steal swung the game back in Long Island’s favor. Bavendam struck again, this time tying the game on a jumper from the elbow, but the lead would be short-lived as senior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) rebounded a Nainima miss and scored on a putback to give the Blackbirds the lead for good.

Long Island saw its lead reach six points when Nainima slipped while driving the lane and managed to unload a shovel pass to senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia), who was cutting to the basket on Nainima’s right. The cushion would be enough to hold off the Terriers for good and give Long Island its first six-game winning streak since the 2002-03 season.

The Blackbirds shot 46 percent from the floor, compared to St. Francis’ 39 percent. Bavendam registered team-highs with 18 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Whippy finished with 14 points, while Coleman tied a career-high by snaring a team-best five boards.

Long Island will continue its early peek into NEC play on Saturday, Dec. 9 when the Blackbirds visit Central Connecticut State at 2:00 p.m.