WATERBURY, Conn. – For Post University Women's Basketball, Saturday's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener did not just signify the start of the conference schedule, but a rematch of the 2022 CACC Championship Game as Dominican (N.Y.) came to the Drubner Center to face the Eagles. Graduate point guard Dede Stevenson would go off for 13 points in the third quarter en route to a 20-point performance and an 88-75 conference opening win for Post.

THE BASICS

Post University 88, Dominican (N.Y.) 75

Post University (3-4, 1-0 CACC)

Dominican (N.Y.) (2-6, 0-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate forward Taina Pagan would give the Eagles some early momentum in what would be a back-and-forth first quarter, scoring the first five points of the frame for Post to give them a 5-2 lead after sophomore guard Cayla Howard scored the first two points of the game for the Lady Chargers. Howard would score five of the first eight points for Dominican (N.Y.) to tie the game up at eight all, but Post would steadily remain ahead. That was until four points from freshman guard Tamia Nunes helped spur a 6-0 run for the Lady Chargers to take the lead back by three before the Eagles punched back again to send the game into the second tied at 20.
 
Leading by as many as 13 points with 46 seconds left in the second quarter, a blistering 43.8% field goal percentage as well as 2-for-3 performance from three would will the Eagles to a nine-point halftime edge over Dominican (N.Y.) led by Pagan's nine points and Stevenson's seven points on offense. Post would trail 23-20 early on until their 8-0 run gave them that lead for good in the first half, 42-33. For the Lady Chargers, they were led by 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting by Howard who played a team-high 18 minutes.
 
Storming out of the gate in the third, the Eagles would go on an 11-3 run led by five points from Stevenson, extending their lead up to a game-high 15 points, forcing the Lady Chargers to call timeout with 6:22 remaining. The point guard would have 20 points after three quarters, getting hot from three as part of her 13-point third quarter showing which helped the Eagles maintain their double-digit lead heading into the fourth, 66-53, after Dominican (N.Y.) got within 10 points with 2:36 left.


The Post lead would stretch to up to 20 points in the fourth as graduate guard Trinity Bravo nailed a three off the backboard, Pagan struck for three points, and junior guard Naj White hit a pair of free throws to make it 77-57 with 6:49 left in regulation. But the Lady Chargers would not go down quietly, applying pressure down the stretch which would threaten the Eagles' large lead, cutting the lead down to 10 points with 1:01 to go after Howard's 30^th point of the afternoon. Post would hit four free throws down the stretch to keep Dominican (N.Y.) out of reach and pick up a big conference opening win by double digits, 88-75.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Dede Stevenson's 20-point performance was only the second time this season in which Post University had a player score 20-plus points in a game, the first being by Maya Klein at St. Thomas Aquinas College
• Cayla Howard had a big game for Dominican (N.Y.), going for 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting with 8-of-12 free throws made in the game
• After going 1-of-15 from three-point range against Mercy, Post University came back with a 10-for-21 effort from beyond the arc (47.6%) and hit 22-of-24 free throws taken
• Five Post University players finished in double digits in Dede Stevenson (20 points), Trinity Bravo and Taina Pagan (14 points), Maya Klein (13 points), and Le'Sandra Turner (12 points) – the most Post players in double digits this season

WHO'S NEXT
As the winter break approaches fast, Post University has just three games remaining in the month of December, starting off with a road matchup against American International College (AIC) slated for Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 PM. The Eagles have won their last two matchups against the Yellow Jackets, most recently doing so during the 2021-22 season with a 72-68 road win. As of right now, AIC is ranked 10^th in the D2CSC East Region Poll.