Women's Basketball Returns Home to Face Off with USCAA Rival Apprentice School

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Following their trip to Puerto Rico to kick off the new year, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team (7-5) will seek a home win as they host USCAA foe The Apprentice School at the Hill Center in a game that has significant USCAA National Tournament implications with both teams currently ranked in the top 10. Tip off is at 4:00 p.m. leading a doubleheader with the men.

Game Information

Opponent: The Apprentice School (5-6)

Date/Time: Saturday, January 10 • 4:00 p.m.

Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Arena: The Hill Center
Coverage: Live stats | Video | Game Program
Play-by-Play: Sitesh Shah (@sswfan) 

Quick Links

St. Joseph's (Bklyn): Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Misc. Stats Apprentice: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Storylines

• St. Joseph's is aiming for their fourth win against the Builders dating back to 2000, and their third straight in the all-time series.
• This is a matchup between two longtime USCAA foes. In the updated USCAA poll, the Lady Bears were ranked No. 7 and Apprentice were behind them at No. 10.
• Freshman Destiny Marino has tallied double figures in 10 consecutive contests, including three double-doubles. She is averaging 12.6 points per game in the span.
• For her outstanding performance last week, Marino was named as both the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Player of the Week and the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Rookie of the Week. This is her second time receiving Rookie of the Week this season, and the first AD3I honor in her first season in a Lady Bear uniform.
• Senior Samantha Retas leads the Lady Bears with both 12.9 points per game, and 12.7 rebounds per contest. Her 10 rebounds in Thursday's win in Puerto Rico was the 45th time she tallied double-figures in boards. 
• Retas is a rebound away from taking over sole possession of third place on the St. Joseph's all-time leaderboard. She is currently tied with Mary Barry (SJC '02) with 744 career boards.
• Taylor Raccuglia has eclipsed her career-high in points twice in the last four games. She notched 21 in a win over CCNY on December 27th, and then topped it with 24 points (along with 10 boards) in a losing effort over Catholic (P.R.) last Wednesday.
• Apprentice does a great job each game of getting to the charity stripe, leading the USCAA with 25.6 attempts per game.
• Both the Lady Bears and the Lady Builders will face off with two common USCAA opponents this season, taking on Briarcliffe and Berkeley (N.Y.).
• Kenya Wilkerson leads Apprentice in three categories. The junior tops the team with 13.0 points per game, dished off 3.7 assists per game and has swiped 3.5 steals per game (third in the USCAA).

Series History

St. Joseph's has 15 previous meetings against Apprentice, dating back to 2001. The Lady Bears have a 4-11 record against the Builders, but have won their last two meetings.

Last Meeting

Powered by a 58 percent second-half shooting effort, the Lady Bears defeated the Builders, 67-60, on December 1, 2013. Seniors Kelly McNamee and Megan Moran each scored a game-high 17 points to lead St. Joseph's. Moran added 10 rebounds and three assists for her first double-double of the season. Taylor Raccuglia chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

The Lady Bear Facts

Senior Samantha Retas leads the Lady Bears with an average of 12.9 points per game and is second in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) in rebounds per game with 12.7 per contest.

Freshman Destiny Marino is second on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game. Marino is second on the team with 7.5 boards per game and also is second in the HVIAC with a team-high 3.8 assists per game for St. Joseph's.

 The two-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week and this week's AD3I Player of the Week also is third in the conference, shooting 44.6 percent from the field.

Senior Taylor Raccuglia is a great versatile player for the Lady Bears. She is currently averaging 9.8 points, second with 3.3 assists (ranked in the top-10 in the HVIAC) and also grabs 6.8 rebounds per contest. Raccuglia recently tallied a double-double, with a career-best 24 points and 10 rebounds against Catholic (P.R.) on January 7th.

Lady Bears Last Time Out

The Lady Bears rallied from a deficit at halftime as they capped off a three-game voyage to Puerto Rico with a win over Sacred Heart (P.R.), 49-38, Thursday afternoon. St. Joseph's wrapped up the trip with a 2-1 record.

Destiny Marino led all scorers with 13 points for St. Joseph's to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Samantha Retas tallied 10 rebounds to go with six points in the winning effort.

Protecting the Basket

The Lady Bears are one of the premiere defensive teams in the country this season. They currently lead all of NCAA Division III grabbing 36 defensive rebounds per game. St Joseph's is also fifth in the nation holding opponents to a 30.1 field goal percentage. 

Lady Bears Move Up to No. 7 Ranking in USCAA Top 10

In the third USCAA Coaches Poll released Friday afternoon, the Lady Bears jumped up a spot to No. 7 after two straight weeks at No. 8. Apprentice comes into tonight's game at No. 10. 

Building Blocks

The Lady Builders have a balanced attacked on offense, with four players averaging double-figures. Apprentice is led by junior guard Kenya Wilkerson, who leads the team in three categories. She tops the team with 13.0 points per game, 3.7 assists per game and 3.5 steals per game. Wilkerson's 3.5 steals per contest is good for third in the USCAA. Senior Shanae Hilliard is second on the team with 12.6 points per contest, and also chips in 3.9 rebounds per game and is in the USCAA top-15 with 2.5 steals.

Apprentice also gets contributions from both sophomore Courtney White and freshman Ylexizis Traeger. One-time USCAA Player of the Week White is third on the team with 11.4 points per game, while Traeger adds 10.9 points per game in her first season.

Apprentice Last Time Out

The Lady Builders got two Kenya Wilkerson free throws with 14 seconds left that helped them defeat host school Juniata College, 74-73, in the third-place game of the Juniata College Holiday Tournament on December 31. The junior finished with a game-high 23 points in a winning effort.

In their first game of 2015, Apprentice will take on fellow USCAA opponent Briarcliffe Friday night.

Next Up for the Lady Bears – New Jersey City

The Lady Bears will travel to the Garden State when they take on New Jersey City University out of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) on Monday January 12th. Tip time is at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.