Panthers Roar Past Lady Bears with Second Half Surge

OLD WESTBURY, NY – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team held a one-point halftime lead on the road against Old Westbury, but the Panthers outscored the Lady Bears 48-19 in the second period to take a 76-48 victory at the Clark Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.

St. Joseph's (3-10) was led by senior Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) who netted 10 points with four rebounds. Junior Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) added nine points with four boards and sophomore Kelly McNamee (Glendale, NY/Mary Louis) chipped in eight points in a reserve role. Senior Kristin Binckes (Brooklyn, NY/St. Savior) secured a team-high eight caroms.

Old Westbury (9-6) saw four Panthers score in double figures paced by Deslyn Applewhaite who tallied 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both game highs. Antoinette Jolly and Clarissa Gallagher each contributed 14 points, Jolly filling up the stat line with seven boards, six assists and four steals. Denise Zajonc added 13 points.

An 5-0 Panther lead on a Zajonc layup and Gallagher three-pointer to open the contest would be the largest separation in the half as both teams remained within three points for the duration of the period.  A trifecta by Joanne Crimeni (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Ford) at the midway point of the half gave the Lady Bears their first lead of the game, 16-13, and both teams battled back-and-forth, producing four ties and seven lead changes until a McNamee layup with 26 seconds left sent the Lady Bears into the lockers up, 29-28.

But it would be a tale of two halves as the Panthers opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take the lead and never looked back.  The Panthers extended their lead to double digits, prompting a second coach Carbone timeout almost seven minutes into the period. But Old Westbury overwhelmed St. Joseph's with 46 percent (20-of-44) shooting in the half and the Panther defense swiped 10 steals, forcing 13 turnovers, producing 14 fast break points.  The Lady Bears offense struggled, connecting at a 19 percent rate (6-of-31).  

For the game, Old Westbury held a 55-39 advantage on the boards and dominated inside, scoring 38 points in the paint and 16 second chance points.

The Lady Bears will look to rebound on Thursday, January 19 on the road against another Skyline foe Purchase College. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.