Women's Basketball Wraps Up HVIAC Schedule Hosting New Rochelle for Senior Night on Tuesday

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team (14-10, 4-1 HVIAC) will look to snap a three-game losing streak as they close out the regular season facing conference foe New Rochelle on Tuesday night in a rematch of last year's HVIAC title game. The Lady Bears will also celebrate Senior Night for the women's basketball and dance teams. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. 

Game Information

Opponent: College of New Rochelle (11-8, 4-1 HVIAC)

Date/Time: Tuesday, February 17th • 7:00 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
New Rochelle: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Storylines

• The Lady Bears have a 17-7 lead in the all-time series against New Rochelle.
• Both teams are tied for first in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) with a 4-1 record along with Albany Pharmacy, who defeated St. Joseph's on Saturday.
• This is the matchup of last year's HVIAC Championship, where the Blue Angels captured their first-ever conference title.
• The Lady Bears will look to grab their 15th win on the season, and it would mark the third straight season notching 15 or more victories.
• Senior Taylor Raccuglia leads the balanced Lady Bears in points per game with 12.6 points per game. She has notched 20 or more points in six games this season.
• Freshman Destiny Marino is second on the team with 12.5 points and 7.4 boards per contest. She also leads the HVIAC with 4.4 assists per game.
• The Blue Angels are led by Jah-Leah Ellis, who is second in the conference with 19.6 points per game and leads with 15.5 boards and a 45.5% shooting percentage.
• This matchup features the top three shooters in the HVIAC. New Rochelle's Jah-Leah Ellis leads the conference with 45.5% from the field, while the Lady Bears' Destiny Marino (44.5%), and Taylor Raccuglia (41.7%) are placed second and third on the list.
• New Rochelle seeks their fourth straight win against HVIAC opponents. Last week they defeated both Yeshiva and Berkeley (N.Y.) to stay tied for first in the conference.

Series History

The Lady Bears have a 17-7 lead in the all-time series against New Rochelle, including a span of 16 straight victories. The Blue Angels have both matchups in 2013-14, including the HVIAC Championship.

Last Meeting

In their last meeting, St. Joseph's was defeated by the Blue Angels, 62-47, in the HVIAC Championship game on February 16, 2014 at The CNR Wellness Center.

Two Lady Bears scored in double figures with Megan Moran and Taylor Raccuglia each netting a team-high 10 points apiece. Moran also contributed seven rebounds and three assists, while Raccuglia swatted four shots. Samantha Retas finished with nine points, a team-high 12 boards and a game-high five rejections

The Lady Bear Facts

Taylor Raccuglia leads the Lady Bears' balanced offense with 12.6 points per game along with 7.0 rebounds per contest and dishing off 3.7 assists per game, putting herself sixth in the HVIAC. The senior is also shooting 41.7% from the field, putting her at third in the conference. She has compiled six games of 20 points or more this season.  

Her senior counterpart Samantha Retas is third on the team with 12.4 points per game, and leads the Lady Bears with 12.8 rebounds per contest. Her 11 double-doubles this season is ranked second in the conference. 

Freshman Destiny Marino is second on St. Joseph's with 12.5 points and is second with 7.5 boards per contest. The freshman also is ranked first in the HVIAC with 4.4 assists per game. She shoots efficiently from the field, hitting 44.5% of her attempts which is second in the HVIAC.

Bear Witness to History

Samantha Retas is on the verge of hitting even more milestones as the season nears its end. Already the all-time school leader in total rebounds, the senior needs 28 points to reach the coveted 1,000 point scoring club and needs 33 rebounds to reach the 1,000 rebound plateau.

Lady Bears Last Time Out

St. Joseph's allowed a second-half run that they could not recover from as they were beaten by Albany Pharmacy, 54-49, Saturday afternoon at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany.

Destiny Marino scored a team-high 13 points along with six rebounds, three steals and three assists. Samantha Retas added nine points and a team-high nine boards in a losing effort. Erica Eddy also chipped in with seven points off the bench, while Taylor Raccuglia secured a team-high nine rebounds along with six points.

Balanced Attack

St. Joseph's has great parity on their team when it comes to scoring this season. Out of the 24 contests this season, Samantha Retas and Taylor Raccuglia has each led the team in scoring seven games this season, while Destiny Marino has had the game-high in points six times in her freshman season.

Angel Dustings

The Blue Angels are led by Jah-Leah Ellis, who is second in the HVIAC with 19.6 points per game. This includes scoring a career-high 35 points in a win earlier this season against Purchase. The five-time HVIAC Player of the Week is also ranked first in the conference in both rebounds per game (15.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (45.4%).

Alyssa Pechin scores 14.8 points per game, which is second on the team and sixth in the conference. She also adds 4.1 assists per game (second in the HVIAC, trailing only St. Joseph's Marino) and 3.3 rebounds per contest.

Hannah Cambel averages 12.1 points each game, while Caitlin Harrison grabs 7.6 rebounds per game (second on the team) to go along with 6.2 points.

College of New Rochelle Last Time Out

The College of New Rochelle defeated Berkeley College tonight at the Wellness Center. Jah-Leah Ellis posted game highs for the Blue Angels with 19 points and 24 rebounds. Alyssa Pechin chipped in with 17 points.

Next Up for the Lady Bears – HVIAC Tournament Semifinals vs. New Rochelle

The Lady Bears will seek to secure their second HVIAC title in three years when the HVIAC Tournament kicks off Saturday for the semifinals against the very same New Rochelle team at the Albert M. White Gymnasium on the campus of Albany Pharmacy at 8:00 p.m. The winner goes to the finals, which will take place on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.