Lady Bears Win Ninth Straight, Defeat John Jay, 69-61

NEW YORK, NY – Led by senior Ashley McQuillan's (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) second straight 20-plus point game, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team notched their ninth straight victory, defeating John Jay College, 69-61, on the road on Monday night at the Doghouse in Manhattan. 

McQuillan finished with a game-high 23 points to lead St. Joseph's (12-11, 5-0 HVWAC).  McQuillan shot 6-of-11 from the floor (55 percent) and 10-of-13 from the charity stripe (77 percent) and grabbed four rebounds, swiped a team-high tying four steals, and dished out three assists.  Junior Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and sophomore Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) chipped in 10 points and five boards to round out the Lady Bears in double figures.

John Jay (7-17, 3-9 CUNYAC) was led by Danielle Eagan who netted 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 3-of-5 from behind-the-arc.  Jamecia Forsythe produced double-double with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds and also handed out a team-high four assists.  Shantel Rodriguez added 12 points and five steals. 

The Bloodhounds got off to a fast start connecting on 62 percent (8-of-15) over the first six minutes of play and an Eagan three-pointer gave John Jay an early 18-8 advantage, which would turn out to be the largest lead the Bloodhounds would hold in the contest. 

But the tides quickly turned as the Lady Bears held the Bloodhounds scoreless for over six minutes as part of a 17-2 run bookended by Joanna Marciniec (Glendale, NY/Baruch) and Stephanie Quick (Howard Beach, NY/Stella Maris) trifectas, giving the Lady Bears their first lead of the game, 25-20.

With the Lady Bears still leading by five, the Bloodhounds scored ten points unanswered,  Eagan tallying eight straight points with a pair of triples and a jumper, putting the Bloodhounds back on top, 32-27, with 3:37 before the break.  But in a first half of runs, the Lady Bears closed opening 20 scoring the final nine points to take back the lead for good and head into the lockers up, 36-32.

St. Joseph's scored the first six points of the second stanza, pushing their lead to double digits where it remained for most of the half.  After a McQuillan layup with 6:48 left gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the game at 13,  the Bloodhounds offense came alive again going on a 10-0 run over a span of three minutes to get right back into the game, 55-52, with 3:39 left.

But the Bloodhounds would get no closer as McQuillan drained a three-pointer to end the scoring drought and a Moran layup expanded their advantage back up to eight.  In the final minute, McQuillan sealed the victory from the free throw line, going 7-for-8.

The Lady Bears finished with 41 percent shooting (25-of-61), finishing higher than 40 percent in all but one game during the streak.  The Bloodhounds connected at a higher rate shooting 42 percent (24-of-57) but only the second time this season the Lady Bears have won after being outshot (Mount Saint Vincent).  John Jay held 41-35 advantage on the boards, but St. Joseph's led in second chance scoring (13-7) and points off turnovers (21-16).

St. Joseph's will return to action as the #1 seed entering the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Tournament this weekend hosted by the Albany College of Pharmacy.  The Lady Bears have received a first round bye and their semifinal opponent and game time will be determined after the quarterfinal round on Thursday night.  The semifinal match will be at either 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. on Saturday night.  Fans unable to make the trip to Albany can follow the live stats and audio on our brand new website, www.SJCBears.com.