Lady Bears Lose 75-67 in Opening Round of Gallaudet Thanksgiving Tournament

Freshman Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY / St. Francis Prep) scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed seven boards in a 75-67 loss to host Gallaudet University, in the opening round of the Gallaudet Thanksgiving Tournament in Washington, DC.

The Lady Bears packed in their zone defense to neutralize the much larger Bison forwards and minimize their rebounding advantage, which kept the game close throughout.  Neither team could build more than a 6 point lead in a half which saw 10 lead changes and four ties.  Midway through the half St. Joseph's went on a 12-2 run to gain a lead that they would hold on to for the remainder of the half.  The Lady Bears entered the locker room with a 37-34 lead that was almost larger with a McQuillan runner at the buzzer coming just a fraction of a second late.

The second stanza remained close throughout with the Lady Bears holding a slight advantage for most of the half.  Each time St. Joseph's would gain a two possession advantage, the Bisons countered keeping the Lady Bears lead to at most four.  Gallaudet's size advantage was more prevalent in the second half, scoring 20 points in the paint, 17 coming off second chance opportunities.  The Bisons outrebounded the Lady Bears 35 to 18 in the half and grabbed 16 offensive boards.  With 6:20 remaining in the game, Gallaudet would tie the game on a layup plus one from Brittany Payne and continue on a 17-5 run to extend their lead to 8 with 2:33 to play.  St. Joseph's had several shots rim in and out and found itself on the short end of several borderline calls going in favor of the home team.  Junior center Julia Serewko (Queens, NY / Mary Louis) fouled out with under four minutes to play, increasing the Bison size advantage and hampering any chance for a Lady Bear comeback.  St. Joseph's was unable to cut into the Bison lead and the home team closed out the game 75-67.

McQuillan played all 40 minutes and led St. Joseph's in scoring for the third straight game and was the only Lady Bear to score in double-figures.  Melissa Velez (Queens, NY / Mary Louis), Julia Serewko, Kristin Binckes (Brooklyn, NY / St. Saviour) and Elizabeth Shea (Brooklyn, NY / Bishop Kearney) all added seven points.  Binckes also grabbed nine boards to lead the team.  Gallaudet was led by Amanda Krieger with 28 points and Nukeitra Hayes turned in a 22 rebound, 19 point double-double.

The loss drops the St. Joseph's to 3-2 and they face the loser of the Penn State Emerson / Penn State Berks matchup played later tonight.