Hello Brooklyn! Lady Bears to Play at Barclays Center on Jan. 5th
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team will play host to Albertus Magnus College on Saturday, January 5th as part of a day-night twinbill at the Barclays Center, the new home of the Brooklyn Nets NBA franchise.
The Lady Bears and Falcons will tip-off at 2:30 p.m. (please note earlier start time) with the Nets and Sacramento Kings set for a 7:30 p.m. start.
While the St. Joseph's allotment of tickets is already sold out, any ticket purchased for the Nets game – through the Nets ticket office, Stubhub or any alternative channel – will be valid for admission to the Lady Bears game.
Starting in 2002, the Lady Bears have played five games at the Izod Center (previously Continental Airlines Arena), the former home of the Nets franchise when it was located in New Jersey.
St Joseph's looks to carry the momentum of a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Pomona-Pitzer to close out their California trip and finish 2102 with a 5-6 mark. Should the Lady Bears win on Thursday night aginst Purchase, they will look to cross the .500 mark for the first time this season at the Barclays. Last January, the Lady Bears started a 10-game winning streak and earned a berth in the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Lady Bears are led by three-time Association of Division III Independents Player of the Week Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) who has six double-doubles to her credit, a category she is ranked in the top 50 in Division III. The sophomore forward averages 14.9 points at a near 50 percent connect rate with 9.4 rebounds per game.
Senior Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) exploded for a career-high 27 points in the victory over Pomona-Pitzer and ranks second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg). The reigning United States Collegiate Athletic Association and Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Player of the Week is the team's leading three-point threat, connecting at 40 percent from behind-the-arc.
Albertus Magnus College is off to one of the best starts in school history with an 8-1 record and boasts the No. 3 scoring offense in Division III posting 84.8 points per game. The Falcons have defeated their opponents by an average 29.1 points per game (No. 4 in Division III) including a 30-point victory over St. Joseph's (Long Island) – who the Lady Bears lost to 64-60 – in their home opener.
The Falcons of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference are led by a pair of 20-plus point scorers in the backcourt in juniors Lindsay Karle (22.3 ppg, No. 6 in Division III) and Lianna Carrero (20.7 ppg, No. 21 in Division III). Karle is a deep threat, averaging 3.8 three-pointers per game (No. 3 in Division III) at a 41 percent connect rate.
After closing 2012 with five-straight on the road, the Lady Bears open 2013 with five straight home contests and will play eight contests in the borough of Brooklyn during the month of January.
Fans unable to attend the game can watch the live webcast on SJCBears.com with Sitesh Shah calling the action.