Lady Bears Basketball vs. Briarcliffe Gameday

BRIARCLIFFE (16-5) at
ST. JOSEPH'S (BKLYN) (13-12, 5-0 HVWAC)

Date/Time: Thursday, February 23, 2012 • 7:30 PM
Location: Brooklyn Technical H.S. (Brooklyn, NY)
Coverage: Live Webcast via sjcbears.com (Play-by-Play: Sitesh Shah)

Senior Night

Following the conclusion of tonight's game, St. Joseph's will honor the seven graduating seniors from the Lady Bears (Kristin Binckes, Joanne Crimeni, Caitlyn Kakavas, Joanna Marciniec, Ashley McQuillan and manager Lisa Scheer) and Dance Team (Kelly Hartney).

Series History

Briarcliffe leads, 4-2

Last Meeting

Last February, Ashley McQuillan scored a career-high 38 points but the Lady Bears found themselves on the wrong end of a high-scoring affair as Briarcliffe had three Lady Bulldogs score 20+ points and took a 103-88 victory at Brooklyn Tech. The 103 points was only the second time ever an opponent crossed the century mark and is the second most points allowed by the Lady Bears in history.

Inside the Bear Den

The Lady Bears have guaranteed at least a .500 record thanks to a 10-game winning streak, the longest in eight seasons.  Over that streak, St. Joseph's averaged 66.7 points, outscoring the opposition by 18.2 points, and connecting at a 42.1 percent rate – finishing all but one game better than 40 percent shooting.

A large factor for the Lady Bears success during that stretch was the play of HVWAC All-Conference Team selections, Ashley McQuillan, Kelly McNamee and Janine Doran, along with Megan Moran who combined to average 43.4 points per game and shot 46.6 percent from the field. 

The Lady Bears also ride a five-game home winning streak and have provided a flair for the dramatic producing three come-from-behind victories against Mount Saint Vincent, Staten Island and Albany Pharmacy.  Five of the nine home tilts have been decided by five points or less.

Did you know? This year's senior class has travelled to 15 different states, plus Canada, over their four-year careers.

Accolades

Following the HVWAC tournament, Ashley McQuillan, Janine Doran and Kelly McNamee were named to the All-Conference Team.  McQuillan has received the distinction in all four years of her career, the only known Lady Bear to achieve the feat.  Doran earns the selection for the second straight season and it is McNamee's first time receiving the honor.

Last Time Out

After stunning Albany Pharmacy at home and finishing the regular season undefeated, the regular-season champion Lady Bears met the Panthers again on their home court on Sunday with the HVWAC title on the line, but came up short in the quest for their fifth title, falling, 67-48. The Panthers raced out to a 16-4 lead and the Lady Bears managed to pull within four but the Panthers extended to double digits and St. Joseph's could never close the gap again, shooting only 28% in the second half. 

Streak Ends at 10; .500 or Better

With a win over New Rochelle in the HVWAC semifinals, the Lady Bears extended their win streak to 10 games, but saw it end in the championship game against Albany Pharmacy. It was the longest streak since the 2003-04 season.  The streak has also guaranteed the Lady Bears will finish with a .500 record or better for the eighth time under coach Carbone and the second time in the last six seasons.

The Bite of the Bulldog

Briarcliffe enters tonight's game as the #3 team in the USCAA and was ranked as high as #2, their highest ranking in school history, and opened their season on a 10-game winning streak.  A win today would match their school record of 17 wins set last season.

The young Lady Bulldog squad, which features six sophomores and three freshmen, boasts a 69.6 scoring average, nearly 14 points better than their opposition.  The offense is paced by Ifeanyi Ofili who averages 21 points per game and combines with fellow sophomores Jessica Little (16 ppg, 11 rpg) and Shenita Urquart (14 ppg) to produce over 50 points per game and the trio combined to score 62 points against the Lady Bears in the last meeting.

Against common opponents… Briarcliffe defeated St. Elizabeth by 3 (SJC lost by 1)… split with Berkeley (SJC won by 8)… split with Apprentice (SJC lost by 9)… and lost to Brooklyn by 31 (SJC lost by 4)… 

Tale of the Tape

16-5	Record	13-12
Lost 1	Streak	Lost 1
11-4, Ranked #3	USCAA	1-1, Received Votes
N/A	Conference	Hudson Valley, 5-0 (1st Place)
February 13 L (50-81) vs. Brooklyn	Last Game	February 19 - L (67-48) vs. Albany Pharmacy
Ifeanyi Ofili (21.0)	Top Pts.	Ashley McQuillan (13.8)
Jessicca Little (11.0)	Top Reb.	Janine Doran (6.3)
	Top Ast.	Ashley McQuillan (2.8)
67.6 (+13.9)	Scoring	62.1 (0.0)
	FG %	37.1%
	FT %	64.2%
	3FG %	27.1%
Stats Not Available	Rebounds	40.0 (-8.8)
	Assists	14.8
	Turnovers	18.3 (+2.6)
	Steals	10.3
	Blocks	2.5