Women's Basketball Gameday: Lady Bears vs. Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- St. Joseph's (8-5) looks to continue their nine-game home winning streak as they face borough rivals Brooklyn College on Monday, January 13th at 7 p.m.

Game Information

Brooklyn College (8-4, 4-2 CUNYAC) vs.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (8-5, 1-0 HVIAC)

Monday, January 13th • 7 p.m.
Brooklyn Technical High School • Brooklyn, N.Y.

Live Stats | Live Video - Sitesh Shah (play-by-play)
Twitter | Instagram (@SJCBears, #SJCWBB)

Storylines

• The Lady Bears ride a nine-game home winning streak, their last loss at Brooklyn Technical High School on January 4, 2013 vs. Briarcliffe.
• St. Joseph's looks to snap a five-game skid to the Bulldogs, their last win coming in February 2008. In 21 meetings dating back to 1996, the Lady Bears trail 10-11 and dominated the series from 2000 to 2005 winning seven straight.
• The Bulldogs enter as winners of five of their last six and have complied a 5-2 record on the road this season.
• Both squads have played five common opponents (NYU, Staten Island, Old Westbury, Medgar Evers, Lehman), compiling matching 3-2 records with similar margins of victory or defeat.
• The Lady Bears thrive on the defensive end of the floor ranking No. 4 in FG percentage defense (30.0) and No. 13 in Blocks per Game (5.8), in large part to Samantha Retas (2.15 bpg) and Taylor Raccuglia (2.10 bpg) who rank No. 45 and No. 49 individually.
• Both Retas and Raccuglia come off double-double efforts in the win over Mount Saint Mary and have combined for eight of the nine double-doubles recorded by the Lady Bears this season, Retas with a team-leading five.
• Guard Kelly McNamee continues to enjoy a stellar senior season averaging a career-best and team-leading 13.1 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from the floor and 93.3 percent shooting from the free throw line.
• St. Joseph's slid one spot to No. 7 in the latest USCAA Coaches' Poll released Friday. Coach Carbone looks for a strong second half to qualify for another berth in the NCAA Tournament (last 2012) or the USCAA National Championship (last 2010).

Series History

The two schools have met on 21 previous occasions since 1996 with Brooklyn College holding a slight 11-10 advantage after winning the last five meetings. The series has been one of streaks with St. Joseph's taking seven straight meetings from 2000 to 2005. Two of the last three meetings have been decided by four points or fewer.

Last Meeting

Brooklyn College opened the second half with a 13-0 run over 2:15 breaking a halftime deadlock en route to a 65-55 victory on January 22, 2013 at the West Quad Center.

Janine Doran paced the Lady Bears with 12 points and seven boards, also handing out three assists. Samantha Retas recorded a double-double by way of 11 points and 10 rebounds, also swatting away three shots and swiping three steals. Megan Moran added 11 points and five caroms coming off the bench.

The Lady Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Powered by four players scoring in double figures, St. Joseph's halted a two-game losing streak as they defeated Mount Saint Mary College, 70-60, at Brooklyn Technical High School on January 4th. The Lady Bears got double-doubles from both Taylor Raccuglia and Retas. Raccuglia tallied 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and also blocked a career-high-tying five shots. Retas chipped in 10 points and snagged 10 boards.

The Lady Bears look to continue their stretch of good play, having won five of their last seven ballgames helped by an emphasis on the defensive end of the floor as St. Joseph's has held their opponents to 28.6 percent (153-of-535) shooting from the floor over the seven-game period, lowering their opponents field goal percentage on the season to 30.0 percent (No. 4 in Division III).

Kelly McNamee has been a solid all-around player for the Lady Bears during her final season, averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game while connecting on a team-high 39.2 percent (20-of-51) of her attempts. The guard also shoots 93.3 percent (28-of-30) from the charity stripe, averages 3.5 caroms per game and adds 2.3 helpers per game.

Picking up her play as of late is Raccuglia who is averaging 13.8 points per game over her last four games and was announced as the USCAA and AD3I Player of the Week last week. The junior has two double-doubles over the four-game stretch, including a 17-point, 10-rebound effort in St. Joseph's win over Mount Saint Mary. The forward has also has two games of five rejections under her belt and is averaging 2.10 per game (No. 49 in Division III).

Adding support to the Lady Bears attack is Retas who has five double-doubles (No. 60 in Division III) on the year and leads the team in rebounding with 10.1 boards per game (No. 77 in Division III). The junior also adds a team-high 2.15 blocked shots per game (No. 45 in Division III).

Inside the Dog House

Last Time Out: Brooklyn picked up a 46-43 victory over CUNYAC foe John Jay College on Friday night despite shooting 23.2 percent (13-of-56) from the floor. The Bulldogs were paced by Nicole Francomano who finished with a team-high 14 points.

Brooklyn comes into tonight's action playing their best basketball of the season having won five of their last six games to move within two games of Staten Island in the CUNYAC standings. The Bulldogs assert themselves on the glass holding an impressive +6.4 rebounding margin (No. 1 in CUNYAC).

Megan Campbell, a two-time CUNYAC Player of the Week, provides a double-double threat for Brooklyn averaging a team-high 15.1 points per game while also securing 7.1 rebounds per game. The senior has four double-doubles on the year and is coming off her worst game of the season against John Jay, where she went 1-of-12 from the field scoring only five points.

Reigning CUNYAC and ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Week Nicole Francomano adds to the Bulldogs arsenal with her versatility. The junior recorded her first career triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists, and 11 steals against Lehman on January 4th. On the year the guard averages 7.8 points per game and 3.3 steals per game (No. 35 in Division III). Francomano also averages 5.9 assists per game (No. 12 in Division III), including three games with double digit helpers.

Common Opponents

• NYU def. St. Joseph's, 76-34 (Nov. 15); NYU def. Brooklyn, 63-43 (Dec. 3)
• Staten Island def. St. Joseph's, 75-62 (Nov. 16); Staten Island def. Brooklyn, 61-48 (Dec. 6)
• St. Joseph's def. Old Westbury, 77-75 OT (Dec. 7); Brooklyn def. Old Westbury, 78-76 (Dec. 11)
• St. Joseph's def. Medgar Evers, 72-49 (Nov. 20); Brooklyn def. Medgar Evers, 79-33 (Dec. 13)
• St. Joseph's def. Lehman, 85-78 (Nov. 23); Brooklyn def. Lehman, 96-88 (Jan. 4)

Did You Know?

The Lady Bears 5.8 blocked shots per game ranks them No. 13 in Division III. Kelly McNamee's 93.3 percent free throw shooting would rank No. 4 in Division II, but the senior falls two made free throws shy of the 2.5 made per game to qualify.

Team Comparison

Lady Bears	Nickname	Bulldogs
8-5 (1-0)	Record	8-4 (4-2)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Kelly McNamee (13.1)	Top Pts.	Megan Campbell (15.1)
Samantha Retas (10.1)	Top Reb.	T'Keyah Francis (8.1)
Kristin D'Chiutiis (3.4)	Top Ast.	Nicole Francomano (5.9)
61.9 (+1.5)	Scoring	63.5 (+3.7)
38.9%	FG %	35.9%
63.7%	FT %	55.6%
28.3%	3FG %	28.5%
47.2 (-0.8)	Rebounds	47.2 (+6.2)
16.5	Assists	15.0
20.4 (-5.2)	Turnovers	21.9 (+0.8)
6.4	Steals	11.3
5.8	Blocks	3.1