Women's Basketball Looks to Play Cinderella Facing Defending USCAA Champion Concordia (AL) on Wednesday

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – The St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) women's basketball team (17-11) will travel to the campus of Penn State Fayette as they play in the USCAA National Championships for the second straight season.

The No. 8 Lady Bears will take on top-seed and defending champions Concordia College (Ala.) Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Tip time is at 10:00 a.m. with the winner playing either the No. 4 seed Apprentice School or No. 5 Daemen College in the semifinals.

UPDATE (3/4 9:30 am): Due to a facility issue caused by the heavy rains in the area, the Lady Bears quarterfinal game vs. Concordia (AL) has been pushed back to an 11 a.m. tipoff.

Game Information

Quarterfinal Round: No. 1 Concordia College (AL) (23-3)
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 4 • 11 a.m.
Location: Uniontown, Pa.
Arena: Penn State Fayette Main Arena
Coverage: Live stats | Video

Semifinal Round: No. 4 The Apprentice School (14-10) or No. 5 Daemen College (11-15)
Date/Time: Thursday, March 5 • 11 a.m.
Location: Uniontown, Pa.
Arena: Penn State Fayette Maltho Arena
Coverage: Live stats | Video

Quick Links

St. Joseph's (Bklyn): Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Misc. Stats
Concordia (Ala.): Roster | Schedule | Statistics
The Apprentice School: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Daemen College: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Storylines

• This is the Lady Bears' second straight USCAA Nationals appearance and ninth appearance all-time.
• In last year's tournament the Lady Bears entered as the No. 7 seed falling to Ave Maria University in the opening round before closing out the season with a 67-65 victory over University of Maine-Fort Kent in the consolation game.
• St. Joseph's faces the Hornets for the first time in school history.
• Lady Bears seniors Samantha Retas and Taylor Raccuglia pace the way in the frontcourt. Retas leads the team in both points (13.3 ppg) and rebounds (12.7 rpg), while Raccuglia chips in with 13.0 points along with 7.7 boards and 3.5 assists.
• The No. 1 Hornets are seeking their second consecutive USCAA title and third in four years as they face the Lady Bears and enter on a 23-game win streak after opening the season with three losses.
• Concordia is led by last year's USCAA National Championship MVP Tykeria Johnson, who is tied for fifth in the association with 17.8 points per contest.
• Daemen College is looking to win their second title in four seasons, victorious in the 2013 USCAA National Championships as the No. 1 seed.
• The Apprentice School is going for their first USCAA title in school history, reaching the postseason in 2009, 2011 and 2012. They reached the semifinals last season, losing to eventual champion Concordia.

Series History

Vs. Concordia (Ala.): This marks the first-ever matchup between the two teams.

Vs. The Apprentice School: The Builders own a 12-4 series advantage over the Lady Bears dating back to 2001, but St. Joseph's has won two out of their last three matchups.

Vs. Daemen: This would be the first time St. Joseph's has played the Wildcats.

Last Meeting

Vs. Concordia (Ala.): This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Vs. The Apprentice School: In their last meeting, Apprentice topped the Lady Bears, 60-49, at the Hill Center on January 10th.

Vs. Daemen: This is the first matchup between the two schools.

The Lady Bear Facts

Senior Samantha Retas leads three Lady Bears in double figures with 13.3 points per game and is second in the HVIAC with 12.5 boards per contest. With her 14 double-doubles, the senior ranked second in the conference. For her performance this season, she was named HVIAC All-Conference as well as the HVIAC Tournament MVP.

Her senior counterpart Taylor Raccuglia averaged 13.0 points (No. 10 in the HVIAC) and 7.7 rebounds per game (No. 9 in HVIAC) along with 3.5 assists (No. 5 in HVIAC) and a conference-best 2.5 blocks per game. A member of the All-Conference team, also connected on 41.2 percent of her shots, which was fourth in the HVIAC.

Freshman Destiny Marino averaged 12.0 points per game in her first season with the Lady Bears. The four-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week ranked third on the team in scoring, logging double figure scoring in a team-high 20 games. The HVIAC Co-Rookie of the Year also was ranked first shooting 42.6% from the field and second in the conference with 4.0 assists per contest.

Lady Bears Last Time Out

St. Joseph's could not maintain the lead as they were defeated by NCAA Division I opponent NJIT, 78-35, last Friday night at the Fleisher Athletics Center in Newark.

Senior Taylor Raccuglia scored a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Bears (17-11), who snapped a three-game winning streak. Samantha Retas added 10 points to go with six boards, while Destiny Marino chipped in with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in a losing effort.

The Buzz Inside the Hornets' Nest

The defending champs and top-ranked Hornets are paced by last season's USCAA Tournament MVP Tykeria Johnson, who scores 17.8 points per game, which is tied for fifth in the USCAA Division I. The one-time USCAA Player of the Week also grabs a team-high 8.1 rebounds per contest and connects on 50.8% from the field, which is fourth in the association.

Erica Ousley is second on the team with 13.6 points per game and tops Concordia with 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. She also is eighth in the USCAA hitting 49.8% of her field goals. Lashay Lettingham chips in with 11.9 points along with 4.8 boards.

Concordia (Ala.) Last Time Out

The Hornets defeated Morris College, 82-74, on February 21st on the road to extend their winning streak to 23 games. Tykeria Johnson led the team with a double-double, scoring a game-high 29 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Erica Ousley and Lashay Lettingham both tallied 16 points, while Kim Clark (14) and Desiree Wilson (11) each posted double figures in rebounds.

Building Blocks

The Lady Builders have a balanced attacked on offense, with four players averaging double-figures. Apprentice is led by freshman Ylexzis Traeger, who tallies 13.6 points per game in her first season along with 5.6 rebounds and 45.0% shooting. Junior guard Kenya Wilkerson nets 12.5 points per game and leads the team and is second in the USCAA with 5.7 assists per game and third in the association with 3.5 steals per game. During the season, she notched the USCAA Player of the Week accolade once.

Senior Shanae Hilliard is second on the team with 12.2 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 and one-time USCAA Player of the Week Courtney White, who is fourth on the team with 10.7 points per game.

Apprentice Last Time Out

The Apprentice School is coming off a 94-64 loss to WVU Tech on Sunday afternoon. Ylexzis Traeger led the Lady Builders with 16 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort, while Kenya Wilkerson added 14 points and five boards.

Wildcats on the Prowl

Daemen is led offensively by one-time USCAA Player of the Weeek Sarah Saba. The freshman guard scores a team-high 14.2 points per contest as well as second with 7.2 rebounds per game. Shy Britton adds 13.3 points and 7.1 boards per game and ranks in the USCAA Division I top-15 by shooting 46.9% from the field.

The Wildcats also get big contributions from beyond the arc. Raeann Stilwell scores 12.2 points per contest, including drilling 61 three-pointers on the season which is tied for fifth in the USCAA. Natalie Galus tops the team with 7.3 rebounds to go along with 9.8 points per game.

Daemen Last Time Out

In their last game, Daemen College dropped an 88-59 decision to NYIT Friday night after a big second-half surge. Shy Britton posted 16 points, six boards and five blocks to lead the Wildcats in a losing effort. Sarah Seba added seven points and 11 rebounds, while Leah McDonnell finished with 10 points and five boards.