Bronx, NY | The College of Staten Island women's basketball team got up early and never looked back, skating to a 74-34 win over Lehman College as part of CUNYAC action at Lehman's Apex Arena this evening.  The Dolphins lifted to 12-4 overall and 6-1 in the CUNYAC, while Lehman fell to 1-13, 1-5, respectively.

A pair of baskets each from Jacquelyn Cali and Megan McEwan got CSI started with an 8-0 lead before a Lehman response, and the Dolphins would match the eight-point lead later in the quarter on a Cristina Camerlengo lay-up, before Lehman closed with free-throws to cut the deficit to 16-10 at the end of the first stanza.

From there, the game belonged to the Dolphins.  CSI would post a 10-0 run in the early stages of the second quarter, sparked by back-to-back three's from Camerlengo and McEwan, helping themselves to a 28-11 lead, and after LC responded with a Eriadna Vasquez basket, CSI went on a 7-0 spurt to take a commanding 35-13 lead with 3:33 to play in the first half.  Devin Mooney was the highlight there, canning a three and lay-up in the segment.

Later in the half, CSI used an 8-0 run to go up by as many as 28, before settling for a lopsided, 43-17, advantage at halftime.

A third-quarter lay-up by McEwan gave CSI their biggest lead at 51-19 in the third, but the Dolphins did grow colder from the floor, allowing Lehman to finish the stanza on an 8-2 run over the last 7:36 of the quarter.

CSI followed the lackluster third with an impressive final stage.  After surrendering the first five points of the fourth, CSI ended with a 21-0 run before Lehman scored a basket with seconds remaining.  Kayla Schmitter highlighted the segment with two impressive three-point plays, while Lola Plamenco added a three, and Lina Bitar a two towards the close.

CSI shot 39% in the game, but the story was their defense, as the Lightning shot a chilly 19.2% in the game (10-52) and were just 2-14 from beyond the arc.  Megan McEwan led all CSI scorers with 15 points, while Schmitter chimed in with 14 and a team-high nine rebounds.  Cali and Mooney finished with 9 points each.  Lehman's Vasquez led Lehman's six-person attack with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Winners of two in a row and four of the last five games, CSI will pick up action a week from tonight, when they welcome in Baruch College for another CUNYAC affair on January 16, at 5:30pm.