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Women's Basketball 12/16/2025 11:10:00 AM

Cougars' stellar defense yields only nine second half points in dominant 55-34 victory over Old Westbury Panthers

Box Score The Medgar Evers College women's basketball team continued their recent stretch of solid play on Monday evening, as the Cougars picked up a victory for the second time in three contests, defeating the Panthers of SUNY Old Westbury by a score of 55-34. The game took place at the Clark Athletic Center in Old Westbury, NY. With the victory, Medgar Evers improved to a mark of 2-8 on the 2025-2026 campaign, while SUNY Old Westbury dipped to 1-8.

In the victory for the Cougars, newcomer Sapphira Bamfield put forth her strongest game as a member of the team to date, as she scored a game-high 17 points (8-12 FG) while collecting four rebounds and swiping three steals. Veteran Bryanna Merger connected on four triples and all three of her opportunities from the stripe, finalizing her evening with 15 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high five steals, and senior Alexis Davis finished with seven points and a tie for the team-high of 11 rebounds. Her four assists tied for the team-high. Finally, it was Aaliyah Lyons adding six points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Despite the loss for the Panthers, SUNY Old Westbury was paced by Sonasia Walker's team-high nine points. She also added three steals on the evening. Kasey Coppola scored six points and snatched a game-high 14 rebounds, and Kyla Moore and Brianne Belizaire contributed five points apiece, with Belizaire pulling down 11 boards, swiping three steals, and swatting a pair of shots.

There were four lead changes in the opening quarter of play. Medgar Evers held an 11-5 advantage in the opening 4:37 of action, with Merger connecting on two trifectas in the early stages of help the Cougars build that edge. SUNY Old Westbury responded with a 7-0 run to close the quarter to snatch a 12-11 lead after 10 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, the hosts held a three-point advantage three different times (14-11, 15-12, and 19-16), before the Cougars rattled off five consecutive points to take a 21-19 lead. The pendulum then swung the Panthers' way, as SUNY Old Westbury closed the half with a 6-0 run, courtesy of a bucket by Moneasia McCloud, a converted layup by Sakhmet Lewis, and another hoop by Walker. At the half, the Panthers held a modest 25-21 advantage.

Medgar Evers dominated the third period, outscoring the Panthers 22-4 in the period, allowing just one SUNY Old Westbury field goal over a 10 minute span. The Cougars' used a fantastic balanced-scoring display to take control of the game, with Merger scoring six in the period, Bamfield and Moutiatou Djibring adding four apiece, Lyons netting three, and Davis, Metra, and Jah Gunter all registering at least a point. After three, the Cougars led 43-29.

The dominance by the visitors carried over from the third quarter into the final period, as Medgar Evers, courtesy of consecutive buckets by Bamfield, and a hoop by Davis, extended its lead to 20 points, 49-29. The Cougars went up by as many as 22, before going on to capture the victory by 21 (55-34).

Both teams struggled mightily shooting the basketball, with the Cougars connecting on just 26.9 percent of their shot attempts (21-78), and the Panthers earning just a 22.4 percent conversion rate (13-58). Medgar Evers held a 59-50 edge on the glass, while also swiping 18 steals to Old Westbury's 14. The Cougars held a 14-8 advantage in assists, but the Panthers blocked six shots compared to three swats for the visitors. Medgar Evers kept turnovers to a minimum, committing 20 miscues, while the hosts finished with 27.

Medgar Evers will now have 22 days off before returning to action on the weekend of January 3-4 of the new calendar year. On that aforementioned weekend, the Cougars will compete in the Johns Hopkins University Women's Basketball Classic, unfolding from the Goldfarb Gymnasium in Baltimore, Maryland. On Saturday, January 3, the Cougars will take on Rowan University at 2:00pm, and the following day, January 4, Medgar Evers will clash with William Paterson University at 1:00pm.

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