Retas Flirts With Triple-Double in Block Party as Women's Basketball Tops St. Joseph's (L.I.) in Hill Center Grand Opening

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) led a balanced offensive attack with her third straight double-double as the St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) women's basketball team defeated St. Joseph's (Long Island), 69-58, in the first half of the East vs. West Showdown as part of the Hill Center Grand Opening Thursday night.

The Lady Bears (4-3) have now been victorious over the Golden Eagles (2-7) the last two years after dropping the previous four matchups since 2008.

Retas was two blocks away from a triple-double, leading the team with 14 points, 17 rebounds and a Lady Bear single-game-high eight blocks as they snapped a two-game losing streak. The eight blocks broke the previous record of six held by both her and Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) from last season. Raccuglia rejected five shots to go along with eight points and five assists – the 13 combined blocks setting a new team single-game record set in this past January vs. CCNY.

Destiny Marino (Queens, N.Y.) rounded out three in double figures, tallying 13 points and three assists, while Brittany Cervino (College Point, N.Y/ St. Agnes) compiled eight points, including drilling two treys, and had seven rebounds.

Jackie Zizzo scored a team-high 13 points to pace the Golden Eagles, while Andrea Iavarone netted nine points and eight rebounds in a losing effort.

Both teams started out slowly, combining shoot just 3-for-29 from the field during the first eight minutes of play. Brooklyn began to pull away, building a 17-2 run in the last 6:15 of the first half and led 36-19 at intermission. Marino totaled seven points in the run, and both Retas and Cervino knocked down a three.

In the second half, the Lady Bears increased their lead to their largest margin 48-23 in the first 4:39. Long Island began to chip away at the lead with a 13-2 outburst the next four minutes of play. The Golden Eagles would get within 10 points, but could not battle back any more as Brooklyn closed out the win.

The Lady Bears held the Golden Eagles to 24 percent shooting (18-for-75) throughout the game. From beyond the arc, Brooklyn's defense also made it difficult, holding Long Island to just 26 percent from long range. They also continued their streak of winning the rebounding edge for the seventh straight game, notching a 57-48 advantage.

Entering the game ranked third in NCAA Division III for assists, the Lady Bears fell just below their average dishing out 18 dimes on 22 made field goals.

Up next, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) will look to build off a big rivalry win at home when they host the College of Staten Island at the Barclays Center on Tuesday, December 23rd at 3:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.