Women's Basketball Falls On the Road to HVIAC Foe Albany Pharmacy, 54-49

ALBANY, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team allowed a second-half run as they were edged out on the road by Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) foe Albany Pharmacy, 54-49, on Saturday afternoon at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany.

The Lady Bears (14-10, 4-1 HVIAC) have now suffered their third straight loss and their first conference loss. They are now in a three-way tie at the top of the standings with the Panthers (12-7, 4-1 HVIAC) and Berkeley (N.Y.)

Freshman Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) scored a team-high 13 points along with six rebounds, three steals and three assists. Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) added nine points and a team-high nine boards in a losing effort.

Erica Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) also chipped in with seven points off the bench, while Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) secured a team-high nine rebounds along with six points.

Megen Serley led three players in double figures for Albany Pharmacy with 14 points and added four assists and three steals. Alexa Schooley and Dannie Griffin each poured in 12 points, and Griffin also grabbed 11 boards to record a double-double. Taylor Sullivan snared a game-high 13 rebounds and also netted seven points for the Panthers.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with two ties and the lead switching hands seven times. Trailing by six, St. Joseph's would go on a 7-0 run to grab a one-point lead. The advantage would go back to the Panthers, but a Marino layup with 27 seconds put the Lady Bears up 25-24 at halftime.

In the second, St. Joseph's would build their advantage to six points at 39-33 with 14:48 remaining. The Panthers would go on a 12-0 run over the next seven minutes that would help lead by as much as seven. The Lady Bears would fight until the final buzzer but ultimately would come up short.

Both teams played relatively even, with each shooting 33.3% from the field. The slight rebounding edge went to Albany Pharmacy (41-39), while the assists went toward the Lady Bears (12-9). The Panthers forced 27 turnovers, and would convert on 26 points off those mishaps.

The Lady Bears will wrap up the regular season on Tuesday night when they take on the College of New Rochelle as part of Senior Night for Samantha Retas and Taylor Raccuglia. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video coverage will be available at SJCBears.com.