Women's Basketball Grounds Golden Eagles, Picks Up First Win Under Flahive

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — A pair of 21-point performances from sophomore Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) and freshman Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) propelled the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team to a 70-65 victory over sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island) in the first Skyline Conference meeting between the two campuses on Tuesday night. The victory was the Lady Bears first of the season and first under new head coach Tom Flahive.

The Basics

• Final Score: SJC Brooklyn 70, SJC Long Island 65
• Records: SJC Brooklyn (1-8, 1-2 Skyline), SJC Long Island (2-5, 0-1 Skyline)
• Date: December 8, 2015
• Location: Patchogue, N.Y.
• Arena: Danzi Athletic Center
• Starters:
  • SJC-BK: Eddy (G), Marino (G), Simon (G), Porcasi (G), Ferrigno (F)
  • SJC-LI: Zizzo (G), Rountree (G), Smith (G), Lupoli (F), Iavarone (F)

Turning Point

• Long Island led 65-62 with 1:45 to play but Porcasi was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three freebies to knot the game. The Golden Eagles would shoot 0-for-5 in the final 1:30 and commit two costly turnovers and the Lady Bears pulled away at the line, with freshman Kellie O'Neill going 3-for-4 to put away the game.

How it Happened

• The Golden Eagles raced out to a 12-3 lead four minutes into the contest before the Lady Bears outscored the hosts 18-6 over the remainder of the period with a Destiny Marino trifecta just before the buzzer gave Brooklyn a 21-18 lead at the first break.
• Brooklyn couldn't pull away from their sibling rivals in the second, leading by as many as four and took a 36-34 advantage into the lockers, just their second halftime lead this season. The Lady Bears shot 41 percent (13-31) in the opening half, led by 15 points from Victoria Porcasi and 11 from Destiny Marino.
• Brooklyn built their largest lead of the game at eight, 52-44, on an Erica Eddy triple with 2:20 left in the 3rd. But Long Island responded with six unanswered and trimmed the lead to two and Brooklyn maintained a 54-52 lead entering the fourth quarter.
• The Golden Eagles regained their first lead since the second quarter midway through the fourth and used a 6-0 run powered by Andrea Iavarone to move ahead 63-60. With the Lady Bears still trailing by three, Porcasi converted three free-throws to knot the game at 65-65. Brooklyn held Long Island scoreless over the final 1:45 and pulled away from the line.

For the Lady Bears

• Destiny Marino recorded her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore also finished shooting 8-for-12 from the charity stripe.
• Victoria Porcasi matched Marino's 21, falling one point shy of her career high and had an efficient shooting night going 6-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-5 from behind-the-arc. The Skyline leader in free throw shooting percentage also sank 5-of-6 from the stripe and pulled down four rebounds.
• Erica Eddy drained 16 points, also one shy of her career best. The senior shot 7-of-14 from the field and grabbed five boards and dished out a game-high four assists.
• Kellie O'Neill added five points and four steals off the bench in just 11 minutes of action. The freshman also shot 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win.

For the Golden Eagles

• Andrea Iavarone led all scorers with a 26-point, 13-rebound double double.
• Jackie Zizzo added 15 points and four reboubnds.
• Asia Rountree contributed 11 points, and seven boards.

Inside the Box Score

• There were four ties and nine lead changes with Brooklyn leading for 22:50 of the contest 
• Both teams were evenly matched in shooting (LI: 39%, BK: 35%) and rebounding (LI: 43, BK: 40)
• Brooklyn was more opportunistic converting 17 Golden Eagle miscues into 21 points while Long Island scored just 11 points off 15 Lady Bears turnovers.
• Brooklyn also made the most of 16 offensive rebounds scoring 17 second chance points. 

The Bear Facts

• Brooklyn captures their third straight against their sibling rivals and closes the gap in the all-time series to 14-8
• The Lady Bears and Golden Eagles will meet again on Thursday, January 7, 2016 in The Hill Center to close out the home-and-home series.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Lady Bears return home to The Hill Center welcoming Farmingdale State on Thursday, December 10 in the nightcap of a Skyline doubleheader with the men. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com