NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – A contest between top three ranked teams in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association, one run broke the game open. The second-ranked Apprentice School Lady Builders (13-1) went on an 18-2 run over an 8:19 span of the second half to defeat third-ranked Briarcliffe College (11-4) 65-52 in the final game of day two in the Martin Luther King Classic at Apprentice Gym Saturday.
The first half saw the teams trade the lead eight times as Briarcliffe held a five-point advantage on two occasions as Ifeanyi Ofili's layup gave the Bulldogs a 24-19 lead with 5:16 left. Apprentice School responded with six straight points and took a 25-24 lead on a Danita Whitaker jumper with 3:08 remaining. As the lead bounced back and forth more, Tamara Davis hit a jumper with 26 seconds left to give Apprentice a 31-29 lead.
In the second half, Briarcliffe took a 37-33 lead on a 3-pointer from Shenita Urquhart with 16:48 left. Apprentice School quickly tied the game on a Denise Hamilton layup at the 15:21 mark and the lead bounced back and forth for the next five minutes.
Patricia Simpson hit a free throw for Briarcliffe with 10:02 left for a 47-45 lead before the Lady Builders started on their run. They reeled off 10 straight points capped by a Jasmine Pringle free throw at the 6:50 mark to lead 55-47. Following a layup from Alexandra Dickens with 4:42 left cutting the deficit to 55-49, Apprentice School scored the next eight points to lead 63-49 on a pair of Hamilton free throws with 1:43 left.
Hamilton again was the leading scorer for Apprentice School with another double-double scoring 18 points, hauling in 11 rebounds and adding five assists. Courtney Collins scored 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals while Davis had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Apprentice School was 21-of-53 from the floor (39.6%) and out-rebounded Briarcliffe 50-36.
The Bulldogs were paced by Ofili with 15 points and Jessica Little with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Briarcliffe was 20-of-61 from the floor (32.8%).
Apprentice School closes the MLK Classic on Sunday afternoon facing Berkeley College (NY) in a 2 pm contest. Berkeley is ranked ninth in the latest USCAA Coaches Poll. Briarcliffe faces Barber-Scotia College in the noon opener.