Retas Joins SJC 1000-Point Club But Women's Basketball Stung By Defending National Champ Concordia in USCAA Quarterfinals

UNIONTOWN, Pa.—The No. 8 St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team was unable to play Cinderella falling 83-63 to No. 1 Concordia College (Alabama) in the quarterfinals of the 2015 United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships on Wednesday morning at Penn State Fayette.

Top-seeded Concordia (24-3) entered as the defending national champion and rode a 23-game winning streak into the contest. The Lady Bears (17-12) will close out their ninth USCAA National appearance with a consolation matchup against the loser of No. 4 Apprentice School vs. No. 5 Daemen College.

Named USCAA Second Team All-American last night, senior Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) led the Lady Bears with her 15th double-double of the season by way of 23 points, 16 rebounds and four rejections, all game highs. In the process, Retas officially joins the St. Joseph's 1,000-point scoring club sitting at 1,005 points in 84 games (12.0 ppg) over three seasons in a Lady Bears uniform. She is the seventh Lady Bear to reach the milestone under Head Coach Frank P. Carbone.

Freshman Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) chipped in 16 points with five assists and five steals while USCAA All-American honorable mention Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) had 12 points, dished out seven dimes and grabbed five boards.

Concordia College placed four Hornets in double figures led by USCAA First Team All-American and Player of the Year Tykeria Johnson who posted 21 boards and eight rebounds.

The defending champs pulled out to an early 7-2 lead before an 8-2 spurt by the underdogs highlighted by a Marino layup and Retas free throw gave the Lady Bears their first lead of the contest, 10-9. But the Hornets would unleash a 16-3 run over six minutes that would put St. Joseph's in a deficit for the rest of the contest.

Concordia shot 50 percent (19-38), including 45.5 percent (5-11) from behind the arc, in the opening 20 to carry a 44-23 lead at the intermission.

The Hornets extended their lead to as many as 32 in the second stanza before the Lady Bears found their range and finished the half shooting 43.8 percent (14-32) to cut the final deficit to 20, 83-63.

Concordia finished their 24th straight win with 49.3 percent shooting (34-69) and sank nine three-pointers. The Hornets also held a large advantage on the glass, 51-32. As a team, the Lady Bears forced 25 turnovers and swiped 15 steals.

Live stats and video for tomorrow's consolation will be available at SJCBears.com with updates via @SJCBears on Twitter. Tip off is scheduled for 9:15 a.m.