Lady Bears End Five Game Skid with Offensive Outburst Against NJCU

BROOKLYN, NY - After a 2-6 December, the Lady Bears were determined to turn things around in the new year. That quest began with an 84-64 victory over the New Jersey City University (NJCU) Gothic Knights. Junior Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) paced an offense that scored its most points since February 2, 2008 when the Lady Bears put up 86 in victory over New Hampshire Technical Institute. With the win the Lady Bears improve to 5-8 on the year (1-0 HVWAC) and break their season long five game losing streak.

St. Joseph's, who never trailed in the contest, used its team speed and hustle to jump out to an early lead. The Lady Bears built a nine point advantage just five minutes in and were able to withstand several Gothic Knights comeback attempts. After NJCU tied the game at 19-19 with 11:39 remaining in the half, coach Carbone called a timeout and his team took over from there, scoring the next eight points to regain the lead.

The offensive onslaught continued as the Lady Bears matched the  most points scored in a half this season and held a 49-38 lead at the break. St. Joseph's was hitting from every spot on the floor as it compiled a 47.6 shooting percentage for the half and connected on six three pointers. McQuillan scored 15 of her game-high 20 points and freshman Kelly McNamee (Glendale, NY/Mary Louis) put on a shooting clinic hitting 5 of 6 shots and scored 11 of her career-high 15 points in the half.

The second half was a continuation of the first as the Lady Bears shot 46.2% from the floor and hit 10 of 13 free throws to put NJCU away for good. St. Joseph's maintained a double-digit lead for the entire period as the Gothic Knights were never able to close the gap.

Though the Lady Bears were clearly undersized and lost the rebounding battle 54-40, the team's speed and depth were clearly on display. Eleven Lady Bears recorded double digit minutes for just the third time this season, which kept the girls fresh for the duration of the game. Their speed was shown in the 33 forced turnovers and 17 steals, led by junior Joanna Marciniec (Glendale, NY/Baruch) with four.

Sophomore Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) joined McQuillan and McNamee in double digit points as she tallied 14 points, connecting on every shot she took. Doran was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor including two trifectas and hit all four of her free throw attempts to finish at 100% shooting.

NJCU (2-9, 0-2 NJAC) had a pair of double digit scorers, Maria Suarez (13) and Carolina Garcia (12). The Gothic Knights also saw Deila Chernez (12) and Alnisa Hernaiz (11) pull down double digit rebounds.

The Lady Bears look to build a winning streak when they return to the court for a non-conference road tilt against Skyline rival Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday, January 8th in Riverdale, NY. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm.