Women's Basketball Gameday: Lady Bears vs. Albany Pharmacy

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (11-8, 3-1 HVIAC) looks to win their third straight Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) game, hosting Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (15-3, 4-1 HVIAC) for Alumni Day at Brooklyn Technical High School on Saturday, February 1st at 7:30 p.m.

Game Information

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (15-3, 4-1 HVIAC) vs.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (11-8, 3-1 HVIAC)

Saturday, February 1st • 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Technical High School • Brooklyn, N.Y.

Live Stats | Live Video - Sitesh Shah (play-by-play)
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Storylines

• The two teams meet with second place in the HVIAC on the line in what may be a preview of a semifinal matchup in the HVIAC Tournament. Either the Lady Bears or Panthers have taken the regular season title in each of the last four years, with the two squads meeting in the championship game of the season-ending conference tournament each of those years.
• St. Joseph's looks to win their second game in a row against Albany Pharmacy, holding a 10-8 lead in the all-time series, with the Lady Bears earning the victory in the HVWAC Championship game last year to level their record against the Panthers in championship meetings to 2-2.
• St. Joseph's tries for their third win in a row and fourth out of their last five, looking to start the month of February off differently than a year ago when they lost to Albany Pharmacy in Albany.
• The Lady Bears are trying to make a late-season push towards a USCAA Tournament berth, coming into tonight's action ranked No. 6 in the Division I coaches' poll while the Panthers ranked No. 2 in the Division II poll that was released yesterday.
• Megan Moran looks to continue her strong play, having scored in double figures in six out of the last seven games, including a career-high 24 points her last time out against Yeshiva.

Series History

St. Joseph's holds a 10-8 edge in the all-time series that goes back to 1996, with the two teams splitting a pair of meetings last season.

Last Meeting

Led by 13 second-half points from Kelly McNamee, St. Joseph's captured their fifth HVWAC championship defeating the top-seeded Panthers, 57-43, on February 17, 2013 at the CNR Wellness Center. McNamee scored 11 of her points over a critical 17-8 second-half run that gave the Lady Bears the lead for good.

McNamee finished with a team-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was named Tournament MVP.

The Lady Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Powered by a career- and game-high 24 points from Moran, St. Joseph's overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to earn an 87-78 victory over Yeshiva University in a HVIAC contest on Wednesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

St. Joseph's is currently on a five-game stretch against HVIAC opponents and have gone 2-1 so far with a home matchup against New Rochelle on the docket for Monday to conclude league play. The Lady Bears continue to stymie opponents with their defense, holding opponents to 29.7 percent shooting (No. 3 in Division III). St. Joseph's looks for a repeat of last February when they went 5-1 to finish the season, as they try to qualify for the USCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

The Lady Bears receive production from a pair of seniors in Kelly McNamee and Moran, who are having the best seasons of their St. Joseph's careers. McNamee leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game and ranks second in the HVIAC with a 35.7 percent three-point field goal percentage. The guard has also been deadly from the charity stripe, connecting on 91.2 percent (31-of-34) of her attempts and has led the team in scoring seven times on the season.

Moran has stepped up her play over the last seven games, averaging 16.1 points per game on 51.2 percent (43-of-84) shooting to up her season scoring average to 11.4 points per game and her shooting percentage to a team-best 45.2 percent.

Adding frontcourt contributions are a pair of juniors in Taylor Raccuglia and Samantha Retas who both average double figures in scoring. Raccuglia continues to fill out the stat sheet each night, averaging 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. Retas averages a double-double with 10.2 points and a team-high 10.7 rebounds per game. The forward has a team-high seven double-doubles and has led the team in rebounding 13 times.

On The Prowl

Last Time Out: Albany Pharmacy came back from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat Fisher College, 63-51, on Thursday. Taylor Sullivan led the Panthers with 17 points while Alexa Schooley finished with 16 points.

The defending USCAA Division II National Tournament Champions and HVWAC regular season champions have played well as of late winning five of their last six games and carry an impressive 6-1 road record into tonight's game. The Panthers stand strong on the defensive end of the floor, surrendering a league-low 45.9 points per game on 31.1 percent shooting.

Last year's HVWAC All-Conference Team selection, Alexa Schooley, leads three Panthers scoring in double figures with 13.4 points per game on a team-high 45.6 percent field goal percentage and leads the team with 7.9 caroms per game. Kelsey Johnson, a one-time HVIAC Player of the Week this season, pours in 12.1 points per game and averages 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.

Taylor Sullivan, also a 2013 HVWAC All-Conference Team selection, drops in 10.8 points per game and brings down 7.3 boards per game.

Did You Know?

The Lady Bears are 4-3 in games play on Saturday this season.

Team Comparison

Lady Bears	Nickname	Panthers
11-8 (3-1)	Record	15-3 (4-1)
HVIAC	Conference	HVIAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Kelly McNamee (12.1)	Top Pts.	Alexa Schooley (13.4)
Samantha Retas (10.7)	Top Reb.	Alexa Schooley (7.9)
Kristin D'Chiutiis (3.3)	Top Ast.	K. Johnson & A. Schooley (2.7)
61.8 (+3.2)	Scoring	59.6 (+13.7)
37.9%	FG %	36.8%
64.4%	FT %	58.8%
26.9%	3FG %	21.7%
47.0 (-1.5)	Rebounds	44.9 (+3.6)
16.4	Assists	13.1
18.8 (-2.4)	Turnovers	14.7 (+6.5)
7.1	Steals	11.8
6.7	Blocks	4.2