Late Wisconsin-Stout Surge Downs Women's Basketball in Colorado Finale

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit and took a late second-half lead, but came away from their Colorado trip empty handed, dropping a 60-57 decision to University of Wisconsin-Stout on Wednesday afternoon at the Colorado College New Year's Ball.

The Lady Bears (7-5) had a chance to tie at the end of regulation, but the Kelly McNamee (Glendale, N.Y./Mary Louis) trifecta attempt wouldn't fall as St. Joseph's dropped their second straight. McNamee and Erica Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) led four Lady Bears with 13 points each. Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) chipped in 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) added 11 points and swatted away five shots.

Wisconsin-Stout (5-7), who used a deep bench and 16 different Blue Devils, were led by Becca Smith's 10 points.

After Retas scored the opening basket, the Blue Devils used 13-0 run to take the lead for the remainder of the half, but the Lady Bears chipped away at the deficit and trailed by five, 32-27, at the break.

Wisconsin-Stout extended back to a 10-point advantage in the second stanza but a 15-2 Lady Bear run over six minutes sparked by six points from Raccuglia gave St. Joseph's their first lead since the opening minutes. The Lady Bears held on to the lead and led by as many as five on multiple occasions and as late as 4:28 before a 9-0 Blue Devil spurt gave Wisconsin-Stout the lead back for good.

TURNING POINT

Although the Lady Bears shot 40 percent (12-30) in the second half, the offense was unable to score for over four minutes in the final moments finding their five-point lead change into a four-point deficit. An Eddy triple with seven seconds left pulled the Lady Bears within one, 58-57. The Blue Devils were fouled immediately in the bonus and made both from the line to move back ahead three, 60-57, with six seconds left.

Coming out of a timeout, the Lady Bears shredded the full-court press applied by the Blue Devils to free up McNamee for an open look to tie from the left elbow, but it would draw iron as the buzzer sounded.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• St. Joseph's outshot Wisconsin-Stout for the contest 39.3% (24-61) to 31.2% (24-77) and from behind-the-arc 36.4% (4-11) to 17.4% (4-23).
• The taller Blue Devils won the battle on the glass 54-36 and converted 23 caroms on the offensive end in 14 second chance points. The Lady Bears only managed seven offensive rebounds and two second chance points.
• Both squads committed 21 turnovers each, with the Blue Devils slightly more opportunistic, outscoring the Lady Bears, 21-18.

THE BEAR FACTS

• Eddy's 13 points matched her career-high, scored vs. Staten Island
• Retas' five blocks matched her career-high vs. Albany Pharmacy last season and matched the season-high by Raccuglia vs. St. Joseph's (L.I.). Both fell one block shy of the single-game record.

NEXT UP FOR THE LADY BEARS

St. Joseph's returns home to Brooklyn Technical H.S. to host Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday, January 4 at 7 p.m. That game will headline a doubleheader with the men hosting Drew University at 5 p.m.