Ave Maria Three-Point Barrage Ends Women's Basketball's USCAA Tournament Run

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – In the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team's first appearance in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championship since 2010, the Lady Bears gave it their all but were overmatched by the No. 2 seed Ave Maria University, suffering a 91-61 opening round setback on Wednesday afternoon at the campus of Penn State Fayette.

St. Joseph's (15-12) faced a difficult task drawing an Ave Maria team that was 23-10 coming into the game and is heading to the NAIA Division II National Championships later this month.

Pacing three Lady Bears scoring in double figures was senior Megan Moran (Syosset, N.Y./St. Dominic's) who had a game-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Junior Jennifer Miller (Ozone Park, N.Y./St. John's Prep) added 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting along with five rebounds, while sophomore Brittany Cervino (College Point, N.Y./St. Agnes) chipped in 10 points going 5-of-6 from the field.

The Gyrenes used a balance approach with five players reaching double-digit points led by Lauren Peters who had 14 points. Cassie Kreiger and First Team All-American Annie Artise contributed 13 points apiece.

St. Joseph's ran into a buzz saw right from the beginning as Ave Maria jumped all over them, scoring the first seven points of the contest. The Lady Bears finally got on the board with a Kelly McNamee (Glendale, N.Y./Mary Louis) three-pointer at the 16:30 mark to make it 7-3, but that was the closest St. Joseph's would get for the remainder of the game.

The Lady Bears had their way offensively against the Gyrenes in the first half, shooting an impressive 63.6 percent (14-of-22) in the period. However, they were plagued by turnovers, committing 13 in the frame which helped Ave Maria extend their lead to double-digits.

The Gyrenes were also helped by a 27-13 edge on the glass, including a 19-4 advantage on the offensive glass which helped them attempt 19 more shots than the Lady Bears.

St. Joseph's got within 11, 22-11, with 9:58 left in the first period on a Cervino jumper and it looked like they may be gaining momentum, but the Gyrenes would have none of it as they finished the half on a 17-9 run to take a 39-20 lead into the break.

The beginning of the second stanza followed a similar pattern as the first half went as the Lady Bears turned the ball over on their first possession leading to a layup on the other end for Ave Maria.

St. Joseph's cut the Gyrenes lead to 19, 57-38, with 14:29 left to play on a Moran layup, but Ave Maria proved to be too talented for the Lady Bears to keep up with as they went on a 9-3 run to push the lead back to 68-41 with 11:54 left to play and cruised the rest of the way. St. Joseph's was not able to contain the three-point barrage by the Gyrenes who hit eight trifectas in the second half, nailing each one in pivotal situations when the Lady Bears had made a small run.

TURNING POINT

St. Joseph's got on the board with a triple from McNamee after surrendering the first seven points of the game, but Ave Maria responded with a 11-4 spurt that gave them a double-digit lead for good at 18-7 with 12:48 left in the first half.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other Contributors: Taylor Raccuglia (7 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast) Kelly McNamee (7 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl) Samantha Retas (4 pts, 13 reb, 4 ast)
• After a hot-shooting first half the Lady Bears cooled down to 37.0 percent (10-of-27) in the second half to finish the day at 49.0 percent (24-of-49).
• Ave Maria finished the day shooting at a 43.2 percent (32-of-74) clip, including 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from beyond the arc compared to just 1-of-7 by St. Joseph's from downtown.
• The Gyrenes finished with a 47-23 edge on the glass for the game which they parlayed into a 23-6 margin in second chance points.
• Lady Bears finished with 22 turnovers which Ave Maria was able to convert into a 26-15 advantage in points off turnovers.
• St. Joseph's went 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from the line, while the Gyrenes were able to connect on 66.7 percent (16-of-24) of their attempts.

THE LADY BEAR FACTS

• The 90 points is the most surrendered by the Lady Bears since November 26, 2011 against Puget Sound when they gave up 93.
• Moran has now scored in double figures 14 of the last 15 games.
• St. Joseph's falls to 0-1 in the all-time series against Ave Maria and are now 6-15 all-time in the USCAA Tournament.
• The Lady Bears remain winless in the first round of the tournament dating back to 2002.

NEXT UP FOR THE LADY BEARS – Maine-Fort Kent

St. Joseph's will conclude their 2013-14 season against University of Maine-Fort Kent tomorrow at 8 a.m. in the consolation game of the USCAA Tournament.