McQuillan Drops 33 in Lady Bears Loss To Penn State Berks in Consolation

For the second straight game, the Lady Bears spoiled a halftime lead late in a game and wasn't able to make baskets down the stretch falling to Penn State Berks in the consolation match of the Gallaudet Thanksgiving Tournament.  Freshman point guard Ashley McQuillan(Brooklyn, NY / St. Francis Prep) had one of the best offensive displays in several years scoring a game-high 33 points. The last Lady Bear to score 30+ points was Michelle Softy who scored 31 in a 68-64 win over Mount Saint Vincent on Dec. 12, 2005 and not since Mary Barry in 2002 has a Lady Bear scored 33 points in a single game.

The first half went back and forth trading baskets with 11 lead changes and 3 ties. Both teams were evenly matched, both shooting over 40 percent from the field, and Berks holding a slight rebounding advantage. McQuillan was brilliant throughout the half, mixing drives to the hoop and mid-range jumpers opened up by the Lady Bears ball movement. The freshman guard shot 9 for 13 in the half including 2 for 3 from behind the arc. McQuillan also contributed on the defensive end, making three of the SJC seven steals on the full court pressure which forced 13 Nittany Lions turnovers. With 0:05 remaining in the half, McQuillan hit a short jumper for her 22nd point a and gave St. Joseph's a 40-39 halftime lead.

The game was a tale of two halves with Penn State Berks dominating the boards and taking the lead with over 16 minutes to play and not relinquishing it.  The Nittany Lions quickly extended their lead to eight going on 19-6 run.  PSU adjusted to hold McQuillan to 4 for 14 shooting in the second half. St. Joseph's brought the game on several occasions within one possession, but missed countless opportunities to put the pressure back on Penn State Berks..  The Nittany Lions took advantage of easy St. Joseph's misses, coming back down the convert and extended their lead.  Penn State Berks shot only 8 for 33 in the second stanza, but grabbed 18 offensive rebounds leading to a 70-49 advantage on the boards for the game.  The final score was not indicative of how close the game really was as the Lady Bears were forced to foul in an attempt to make a comeback. Penn State Berks led the game by 10 with 0:24 left to play, ultimately closing out the game 78-71.

"This is a hard pill for us to swallow," comments Coach Frank P. Carbone.  "We had the lead at halftime in both games and were on the cusp of taking control of both games, but our inability to capitalize on easy opportunities down the stretch was the difference between two wins and two losses. However, I am very encouraged by the progress of the team this early in the season especially considering that we are missing one of our leading scorers."

McQuillan shot 13 for 27 from the floor and grabbed six boards and got five steals.  Senior Melissa Velez (Queens, NY / Mary Louis) added 10 points, the only other Lady Bear in double figures.  Freshman Kristin Binkes(Brooklyn, NY / St. Savior) was a presence down low once again grabbing a team high nine rebounds with one block.  Penn State Berks had three players in double figures led by Steph Binder who had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. 

For the tournament, McQuillan averaged 30.0 points with 6.5 rebounds while shooting 46.2% and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The loss drops St. Joseph's to .500 at 3-3 and Penn State Berks improves to 2-4.  St. Joseph's travels to Patchogue on Friday for a rivalry match against the St. Joseph's-LI campus for a doubleheader with the men's team.  The women are scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 PM and the men are scheduled to tip-off at 8:00 PM.