Lady Bears Struggle to Generate Offense, Fall to Dolphins

STATEN ISLAND, NY – Both the Lady Bears and the Dolphins had a difficult time finding any offense, but it was Staten Island who was able to generate enough to pull out a 58-50 victory. The two teams combined to shoot just 30.5% from the floor and committed 37 fouls. St. Joseph's now has lost back-to-back games and fall to 7-12 (1-0 HVWAC) on the year.

In a game of fits and starts for both teams, the Dolphins led the entire way. Staten Island opened the game by scoring the first ten points in just over three minutes.

Coach Carbone was forced to call a timeout for St. Joseph's, and after the Dolphins pushed their lead to 12, the Lady Bears went on a run of their own. Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) hit two three pointers and the Lady Bears scored ten unanswered points to close the gap to two halfway through the first.

St. Joseph's then went cold again and allowed the Dolphins to bring their lead back up to eight. The Lady Bears went 4:38 between field goals. After both teams traded baskets the rest of the half, Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) hit a three to cut Staten Island's lead to four.

The poor shooting continued to start the second half, but the Lady Bears were able to get within one with 12:50 left to play. That's when it was the Dolphins turn to get hot. They went on a 16-8 run to bring their lead back up to nine.

The Lady Bears were able to put together one final push and get to within four with 33 seconds to play, but that's as close as they got. Staten Island connected on all four free throws down the stretch to ice the game and ruin any Lady Bears chance at a comeback.

McQuillan led the Bears with 15 points, and was one of three girls to score in double figures. Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) registered her third double-double of the season with ten points and a team-high ten rebounds. She now has reached double-digit points in four straight games. Mangan chipped in with ten points and finished a rebound shy of her first double-double of the season.

The Dolphins were led by Allie Shanahan and Katelyn Hepworth who both notched double-doubles. Shanahan scored a game-high 18 points while Hepworth finished with 13. Both girls had 17 rebounds apiece to account for 34 of the teams 56.

The Lady Bears begin a stretch of three straight HVWAC opponents starting Saturday night, January 29th, as part of a men's and women's double-header against Berkeley. St. Joseph's is also celebrating Alumni Night as past members of the men's and women's teams will be playing at 2:00 pm with the women's game following at 5:00 pm and the men concluding the night at 7:30 pm.