BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team fell victim to a strong second half by the Road Runners Tuesday night, as CSU Bakersfield beat the Blackbirds 84-53 in the Icardo Center. CSUB senior Tyonna Outland had 22 of her 26 points in the second half to lead her team to the win.

The first half of play was a close one between the two teams. Junior Sophie Bhasin had LIU's first points of the game, hitting a three-pointer at 17:23 to tie the game up at 3-3. The Road Runners would take back the lead, but the Blackbirds were able to stay close for the next few minutes. A layup by junior Shanice Vaughan at 13:49 cut the lead to 9-7, and two minutes later, Bhasin hit a three to cut it to 11-10.

But the 'Runners started on a run at the 10-minute mark, outscoring the Blackbirds 12-2 over the next five minutes of play. Forward Batabe Zepare had eight of those points, helping her team take a 25-14 lead.

LIU started to rally in the final three minutes of the half.  A layup by Bhasin cut the gap to six points, 29-23. From there, LIU used back to back layups from sophomore Shanovia Dove to close the lead to 33-30 at 1:52, and a minute later, freshman Drew Winter would drain a long jumper to close the gap to just two points, 35-32 with 58 seconds to go. But the 'Runners got the last shot of the half, and it was good, as the home team would take a 37-33 lead into the break.

Coming out of halftime, however, Outland started to put on a show. After CSUB point guard Alyssa Shannon hit a three and had a steal on LIU's next possession, she dished the fast break to Outland, who made the layup at 17:23, to put her team up, 44-35.  Those were two of the eight-straight points Outland would score, putting CSU Bakersfield up, 50-35 at 14:48.

After LIU freshman Paris Jones hit a three point shot, Outland took control once more. She drained four straight free throws, and hit back-to-back jumpers, putting the Road Runners up, 60-38 with 12 minutes left to play. The Blackbirds were held scoreless for nearly six minutes, while Outland scored 16 points in the first eight minutes of the half.

The senior guard was not done doing damage, as she added one more three pointer, followed by a steal and a fast break layup to take the 'Runners to a 73-41 lead with just under seven minutes left in the game. The Road Runners would add three more treys in the final four minutes of play to keep the game well out of reach for LIU, taking the win by a final score of 84-53.

Up next, the Blackbirds (3-8) open Northeast Conference play, hosting Bryant, Saturday, January 5 at 1 p.m.

BLACKBIRD BITS
• Junior Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 13 points, while classmate Brianna Farris had 10 points.
• Sophomore Mercedes Harris led LIU with seven rebounds in just nine minutes of play
• Tyonna Outland finished with 26 points to lead CSUB, while Batabe Zempare had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Alyssa Shannon scored 16 points.
• The Road Runners outscored LIU in the paint, 44-24, and scored 29 points off LIU turnovers.