Men's and Women's Basketball Open ECC Play with Bridgeport on Saturday
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (November 30, 2012) – The LIU Post men's and women's basketball team welcome East Coast Conference foe University of Bridgeport to the Pratt Recreation Center on Saturday, Dec. 1. This is the first doubleheader of the season, as the women tip-off at 1:30 pm followed by a 3:30 pm start for the men.
LIU Post women's basketball has gotten off to a 3-0 start, most recently posting two wins in last weekend's tournament at Dowling, defeating Felician, 69-54, and downing Goldey-Beacom, 73-64. The matchup against Bridgeport marks the East Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Senior forward
Nicolette Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) leads a quartet of players averaging double figures for the Pioneers. Marciniak is currently averaging a double-double with 17.7 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard
Ashley Caggiano (Holtsville, N.Y.) is right behind with 14. 7 points per game and sophomore guard
Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) averages 13.7 points per game. Caggiano and Williams have been the most consistent shooters from long range, and Caggiano is 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, while Williams has sunk 7-of-17 from downtown. Junior forward
Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) is at 10.7 points per game, and joins Caggiano as one of the top distributors with 3.7 assists per game, while Caggiano is dishing out 4.0 assists per game. Rounding out the top five for the Pioneers is senior center
Samantha Kopp (Franklinville, N.Y.), whose 10.3 boards per game pace the team.
The Bridgeport women have gotten off to a quick 5-1 start, with their lone loss coming in their most recent contest against Stonehill by an 11 point deficit, 60-49.
Bridgeport is paced by ECC Preseason Player of the Year, senior forward Tanisha Carter. Carter is averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting an impressive 51.8 percent from the floor. Senior guard Priscilla Dodoo is averaging a double double as she scores 15.5 points per game while pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Aziza Patterson rounds out the scoring trio for Bridgeport with 10.7 points per game. Offensively, the Purple Knights are averaging 65.0 points per game, shooting 39.4% from the floor (147-373) and hold a + 1.0 rebounding margin. Defensively, they allow 59.7 points per game and control the turnover battle with a +6.0 margin.
On the men's side, the Pioneers broke into the win column in their last outing with a 74-72 comeback win against Merrimack. A three-game slide to open the season frustrated the Pioneers, but a solid shooting effort combined with strong bench play led the team to victory against the Warriors. As with the women's team, the matchup versus the Purple Knights is the conference opener for both teams.
The Pioneers are led by ECC preseason Player of the Year, senior guard
Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) who is averaging 18.0 points per game. In the Merrimack win, Carberry's two free throws gave LIU Post the lead with six seconds remaining. Junior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) is averaing 14.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward
Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) has pulled down 10.8 boards per game and chips in with 8.8 points per contest. The Pioneers are averaging 68.3 points per game. They are currently shooting 43.7% from the floor (97-of-222), but are struggling from long-range, shooting just 20.8% (10-of-48). A bright spot from downtown has been the three-point shooting of freshman guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) who has made 7-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Purple Knights come in with a 2-5 record but have lost four straight after opening the season 2-1. Averaging 69.0 points per contest, three Bridgeport players are averaging double figures, led by senior guard Darian David's 17.1 points per game. Junior forward Ivan Simic has chipped in with 12.3 points per game, and senior guard Kourtney Goff adds 11.0 points per game. The Purple Knights are shooting 41.1% from the floor (165-of-401) and 33.1 (113-of-171) from beyond the arc, while defensively, averaging 36.7 rebounds per game and forcing 16.3 turnovers per game.