(Valhalla, NY) - When building a program with a young team over a long season, there are days when success is measured in wins and losses, and days when it is marked by the development of individual players, and commitment to improvement. And then there are those magical nights when it all comes together, and a team can measure success in every way possible. On Tuesday night at Viking Gymnasium, the Westchester Community College Women's Basketball team enjoyed one of those evenings. Five Vikings scored in double figures, and freshman Sarah Placide (New City, NY/Clarkstown North HS) turned in a career-best performance with 14 points and eight rebounds as the Vikings took the lead late in the first quarter and never looked back, downing Ulster Community College 81-62 at Viking Gymnasium.

With the win, Westchester is now 11-15 overall, they finish 5-3 against NJCAA Region XV competition, and will be a top-three seed for the upcoming Region XV Championship Tournament ... all during their first full season of varsity play.

Early on, it seemed as if freshman Donjeta Prelvukaj (Bronx, NY/St. Catharine) was going to single-handedly win the game for the Vikings. Up 11-10 with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter, Prelvukaj led the Vikings on an incredible run as Westchester scored the final 13 points of the quarter to take a 24-10 lead. During the opening 10 minutes alone, Prelvukaj scored 15 points, and added five rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.

However, Ulster battled back during the second quarter, denying Prelvukaj the ball, and holding the Vikings to a 4 for 23 shooting effort during the stanza as the Senators battled back to make it a 34-31 Westchester lead at the break.

But, the more Ulster denied Prelvukaj the ball, the more the other Vikings developed a rhythm ... and boy did it pay off. As the second half progressed, Placide heated up, as did freshman Jailine Ruiz (Bronx, NY/William Cullen Bryant HS), who scored 14 of her 16 points during the second half. Westchester outscored Ulster 20-13 during the third quarter to make a 10-point game, and led by as many as 22 points during the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Prelvukaj finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocked shots during one of her best all-around games of the season. Ruiz added 16 points, eight rebounds, and six steals, to go with three assists. Also for Westchester, freshman Tina Fabrizi (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck HS) added 15 points and six assists.

If the story of the game was not the incredible play of Placide, it was the effort taken by steadily improving freshman Marisol Rodriguez (New York, NY/High School for Economics & Finance), who has come as far as any Viking down the stretch. Rodriguez notched her first career double-double, scoring 10 points and adding 15 rebounds - including 11 offensive boards - during 40 outstanding minutes for the young post player. She also had three assists.

Ulster actually had a better shooting night - 39%-37% - but Westchester held a slight edge in rebounds 50-47, and a decisive 34-17 advantage in turnovers, that proved to be the difference. Westchester scored 38 points off turnovers, compared to 11 for Ulster, accounting for the overall scoring disparity.

Westchester CC closes the 2019-2020 regular season when the Vikings host Nassau Community College at 5:00 p.m. The undefeated Lions are currently the #1 ranked team in the nation at the NJCAA Division III level.