KINGS POINT, NY -- On Wednesday night, the City College of New York women's basketball team opened its 2019-20 season with a matchup at Merchant Marine.  In their first game under new Head Coach Michael Williams, the Beavers (0-1) dropped a 67-36 decision to the Mariners (1-0) at Liebertz Gymnasium.

After the teams traded the first two baskets of the game, Merchant Marine went on a 13-3 run to open up a 15-5 cushion.  The Mariners extended their lead to 29-10 midway through the second quarter, but the Beavers responded with eight consecutive points to pull back within 11 at 29-18.  Merchant Marine scored the last nine points of the half, though, to take a 38-18 advantage into the locker room.

CCNY trimmed its deficit to 16 points at 46-30 with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter before Merchant Marine used an 8-0 rally to increase the margin to 54-30.  The Mariners' cushion reached a game-high 32 points at 63-31 with 2:52 left, and Merchant Marine won by a 67-36 count.

Reilly Boehm (Orlando, FL) paced the Beavers with 16 points, while Tianna Fumasoli (Elizaville, NY) tallied 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.  Harlean Williams (Staten Island, NY) contributed six points, eight boards and five blocks off the bench.  Melanie Torres (Queens, NY) added three blocks, as CCNY recorded with 12 blocks as a team.  The Beavers shot 22.4 percent (13-of-58) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from long range, and 50 percent (4-of-8) at the charity stripe.

For the Mariners, Kaleigh D'Arcy had a game-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and nine assists.  Lauren Hunter finished with 13 points and eight boards, while Madison Demos registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Taylor Hightower, meanwhile, pulled down 13 boards, as Merchant Marine outrebounded CCNY 57-38.  The Mariners went 27-for-73 (37 percent) from the field, 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from downtown, and 9-for-15 (60 percent) at the free throw line.

This weekend, the Beavers head to New Jersey for the Stockton Tip-Off Tournament.  CCNY takes on the host Ospreys (1-0) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, then faces either Cabrini (1-0) or Pitt-Greensburg (1-0) on Sunday.