The men’s and women’s basketball teams secured blowout victories against their respective opponents this weekend at the Coles Sports Center. The women’s team blasted the College of New Rochelle Blue Angels 69-37 and the men’s team dropped the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Trailblazers by a score of 83-62. Both teams stayed perfect on the season after winning on Nov. 23.
In the women’s game, CAS freshman guard Kaitlyn Read led the Violets in scoring with 15 points and in steals with seven. She also chipped in six rebounds and two assists. CAS sophomore forward and co-captain Megan Dawe was the Violets’ leading rebounder with eight boards.
The Violets started fast on both ends of the floor, scoring 37 points in the first half while allowing the Blue Angels only 13. The team dominated the offensive and defensive glass, pulling down 50 rebounds to New Rochelle’s 28.
The women’s team, with a record of 4-0, will return home to Coles to face Brooklyn College Bulldogs on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
Despite varying expectations for the men’s team, the Violets have also begun the season with a bang, racing out to a 3-0 record. The trend continued on Saturday after the team beat MCLA.
The duo of SCPS sophomore center Costis Gontikas and LS sophomore forward Evan Kupferberg led the offense for the Violets, scoring 21 and 18 points respectively.
“One of the keys to winning was our team defense and offensively our inside game,” Gontikas said. “The guards were great in finding Evan and myself inside the paint.”
Gontikas also ripped down six rebounds and registered two blocks. Kupferberg added eight rebounds and two assists.
Stern sophomore guard Max Ralby was the strong man for the Violets, playing for 28 minutes. Ralby contributed a stat line of eight points, five assists and three steals.
The Violets outscored MCLA by 15 points in the first half, providing some cushion going into the second half, which turned out to be more evenly played.
“Moving forward, we have to keep working on our defense and making good decisions within our offense,” Gontikas said.
The men’s team returns home to Coles on Dec. 4 to play the United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners. Both the men’s and women’s teams begin UAA conference play Jan .11, 2014 against the the Brandeis University Jud-ges, a UAA rival. The women will tip off at 2 p.m. and the men will start at 4 p.m.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 25 print edition. Chris Marcotrigiano is deputy sports editor. Email him at [email protected].