OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The Cedar Crest College basketball team defeated SUNY Old Westbury 68-49 in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.

The Falcons started the contest on a 6-0 run and later led 10-4 following a tip-in by senior Rachel Bilger (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Dublin) with 6:23 on the clock. Back-to-back buckets cut the Cedar Crest margin to two, 10-8, with 4:10 to play. The visitors pushed the margin back to six, 14-8, following a layup from Bilger. The Panthers outscored the Falcons 6-4 over the remainder of the quarter, but it was Cedar Crest with an 18-14 lead at the end of one.

After an opening basket from Old Westbury, the Falcons went on an 11-5 run to build an eight-point advantage, 29-21, capped off by a triple from senior Bryanna Rivera (Reading, Pa./Greenfield (Mass.)) with 3:51 left in the frame. Cedar Crest then finished on a 7-3 spurt to extend the margin to 12 and enter the locker room up, 36-24.

Cedar Crest began the third quarter on a 7-0 run, finished off by a layup by first-year Maliya Gonzalez (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) with 7:16 on the clock to stretch the Falcons' lead to 19, 43-24. Cedar Crest extended its margin to as many as 24 (51-27) and entered the final stanza with a 17-point lead, 53-36.

The Falcons remained comfortably in front for the rest of the contest and pushed its lead to as many as 26, 63-37, before closing out the game with the 19-point victory, 68-49.

Bilger paced Cedar Crest with a double-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, and one assist on 8-for-11 shooting in 35 minutes of action. Sophomore Caylie Long (Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove) tallied 17 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the floor with six boards, one assist, one block, and six steals. Sophomore Megan Perrine (Mount Vision, N.Y./Gilbertsville-Mount Upton) pitched in a near double-double of 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and two steals. First-year Maliya Gonzalez (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) had 12 points, eight boards, and six assists in 40 minutes to close out the Falcons in double figures.

First-year Jailah Pineda (Cypress, Calif.) guided the Panthers with 16 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and six steals. Junior Malaura Oliver (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in a double-double of 15 points and 12 boards. First-year Maya Kama (Los Angeles, Calif.) was the final Old Westbury student-athlete in double figures with 14 points, one rebound, and two steals.

The Falcons shot 40.5 percent from the floor in the contest and scored 20 points off 19 turnovers from the Panthers.

Cedar Crest (1-1 overall) will open United East Conference play with its next game on Tuesday, November 26 at Bryn Athyn College at 6:00 p.m. SUNY Old Westbury (0-3 overall) will kick off its league schedule with a home date with Sarah Lawrence College on Wednesday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m.