Lady Bears Rally From 13 Down Against York to Pick Up First Win of Season

JAMAICA, NY – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team erased a 13 point second half deficit powered by a balanced offense that found five Lady Bears scoring in double-digits to notch their first victory of the season over York College (N.Y.), 80-75, on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Bears enjoyed their best shooting half of the season connecting on 50 percent (18-for-36) of their attempts to open the game but couldn't keep pace with the Cardinals who shot a blistering 57 percent (21-for-37) which included 6-of-9 from three point land. Senior Joanna Josama netted 21 points and junior Shadae Rice tallied 15 points in the opening frame to pace York to a 52-44 halftime advantage.

York (0-6) continued to roll to open the second half extending their lead to double-digits and built their largest lead of the game, 59-46, at the 16:55 mark. But St. Joseph's employed a 14-3 run over a five minute span to knot the game at 64-64 on a Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) layup just past the midway point of the half. Junior Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) sparked the run with a jumper and contributed six points in the comeback while Doran and Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) added four each.

Both teams jockeyed for the lead over the next several minutes as the game saw three more ties and four lead changes until a Rice jumper tied the game 72-72 with 3:52 left.  Then St. Joseph's took control, going on a 6-0 run on three straight baskets by Doran, Mangan and Kristin Binckes (Brooklyn, NY/St. Savior), taking a 78-72 lead with just over a minute left. The Cardinals responded with a Rice triple to cut the deficit in half, but wouldn't come any closer, turning the ball over twice in the final minute.

The Lady Bears defense clamped down in the second half, holding York to 22 percent shooting. St. Joseph's finished the game shooting a season-high 46 percent (32-for-70) and won the turnover battle, 27-16, converting the Cardinal miscues into 25 points.

McQuillan finished with a team-high 17 points to lead St. Joseph's. Mangan finished with 13 points and Doran with 12, each securing four rebounds. Doran also swiped a game-high four steals. Sophomore Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic) added 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting with five rebounds.  Sophomore Kelly McNamee (Glendale, NY/Mary Louis) chipped in 11 points and in a reserve role. McQuillan, Moran and McNamee each set new scoring season highs.

Rice finished with a game-high 28 points with nine rebounds and Josama ended up with 22 points to lead York. Stayce Kay Muirhead contributed a 10 point, 16 rebound double-double.

St. Joseph's returns home to face another CUNYAC foe and borough rival, Brooklyn College, on Tuesday, December 6th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School.