Lady Bears Clipped By Falcons to Open 2012

NEW HAVEN, CT – Seeing their first action in over three weeks, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team dropped a 77-70 decision on the road to Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday night.

Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) led St. Joseph's (1-8) with a season-high 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting. The senior guard also handed out a game-high five assists. Junior Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) had 16 points, matching a season-high set twice already. Junior Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) added 13 points in a reserve role and also grabbed eight rebounds, sharing team-high honors with Kristin Binckes (Brooklyn, NY/St. Savior).

The tandem of Bianca Brown and Lianna Carrero proved too much for the Lady Bears as they scored 25 points and 24 points, respectively, to lead Albertus Magnus (7-2). The duo also combined to shoot 19-for-22 from the free throw line, making more free throws than the Lady Bears attempted in the contest (14). Albertus placed four Falcons in double-figures, also receiving a double-double from Sarah Boudreau (10 points, 14 rebounds).

Although both teams were inactive since December 10th, Albertus came out the fresher, racing out to a 9-0 lead to open the contest. But the Lady Bears managed to maintain the deficit to single-digits and trailed only 34-27 at the break, outscoring the Falcons 20-9 in the paint and Doran scoring nine points in the half.

A layup and trifecta by Mangan to open the second stanza sparked a 9-0 run of their own, giving the Lady Bears their first lead of the game. St. Joseph's struggled to find the range from three-point land in the first half shooting 0-for-7, but McQuillan also connected on a trifecta giving the Lady Bears a 39-36 lead. But that would be the most the Lady Bears would lead as the Falcons took the lead back for good scoring the next 11 points unanswered.

St. Joseph's found improved shooting in the second half connecting on 49 percent (17-of-25) of their attempts and 42 percent (5-of-12) from behind the arc and cut the deficit to one possession on two separate occasions, only to watch the Falcons extend their lead back out. After a Joanna Marciniec (Glendale, NY/Baruch) three-pointer brought the deficit to three, 54-51, with 8:31 to play, Albertus ballooned their advantage to 13 with a 10-0 run.

St. Joseph's managed to get as close as five in the final minute, but the Falcons went 6-for-6 at the line to hold off the Lady Bears.  The Falcons shot 19-of-24 from the line in the half, the beneficiary of a 17-8 foul discrepancy.

The Lady Bears return to the hardwood seeking their first win of 2012 on Thursday, January 5 hosting Mount Saint Vincent at Brooklyn Technical High School. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled as the lead game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, January 4.