Marino's & Porcasis Double-Doubles Helps Women's Basketball Push Farmingdale to the Limit

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Three Lady Bears grabbed double-digit boards, led by sophomore Destiny Marino's (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) 27-point, 13-rebound performance and freshman Victoria Porcasi's (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) 20 points and 11 caroms, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team dropped a 69-65 road battle against Farmingdale State that went down to the wire on Saturday night in their regular season finale.

Despite the loss, the Lady Bears clinched the sixth-and-final Skyline Tournament spot and await their first round opponent on Tuesday, February 23.

The Basics

• Final Score: Farmingdale St. 69, St. Joseph's 65
• Records: Farmingdale St. (9-14, 8-6 Skyline), St. Joseph's (7-18, 6-10 Skyline)
• Date: February 13, 2016
• Location: Farmingdale, N.Y.
• Arena: Walter A. Lynch Sports Center
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Eddy (G), Marino (G), Simon (G), Porcasi (G), Candelaria (F)
  • Farmingdale St.: Jenkins (G), Harrison (G), Romero (G), Masson (F), May (F)

Turning Point

• With 1:14 remaining, the charging Lady Bears drew even following Victoria Porcasi's jumper. But consecutive layups in the next minute put the Rams back up and St. Joseph's was unable to find the net in the waning seconds.

How it Happened

• Knotted at six, the Rams used a 7-0 rally late in the first quarter to claim an early 13-6 advantage. Destiny Marino made the last two baskets of the period to cut it to 13-10.
• After trading baskets for most of the second, the Lady Bears finally drew even at 22 following Marino's free throw at the 3:03 mark.
• Soon after, with 2:00 remaining in the half, Kristin Ferrgino connected from three-point range to give St. Joseph's their first lead. The Rams rallied back to enter the intermission with a slight 31-30 advantage.
• Farmingdale ended the third stanza with seven unanswered points, moving up 49-42 to secure some breathing room heading into the final frame.
• Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Charnae Jenkins' triple moved the Rams up 54-44. But the Lady Bears countered with five straight in a 1:14 span to slash the deficit in half.
• Six consecutive points from Marino had St. Joseph's within one point, 56-55, with 5:26 to play.
• With 1:14 on the clock, Victoria Porcasi's jumper drew the persisent Lady Bears even. But the Rams recorded consecutive layups and St. Joseph's missed their final three shots, ultimately dropping a tight road battle 69-65.

For the Lady Bears

• Destiny Marino led all scorers with 27 on 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. The sophomore paired it with 13 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season.
• Freshman Victoria Porcasi dropped 20 and grabbed a career-high 11 boards for her second career double-double.
• Junior Kristen Candelaria pulled down a game- and career-high 15 rebounds also chipping in six points.

For the Rams

• Tyra Harrison led the Rams with 25 on 10-of-25 shooting.
• Chelsea May notched a double-double with a 10-point, 13-rebound effort.
• Camille Romero pitched in 13 points, five boards and five helpers.

Inside the Box Score

• Led by three with double-digit boards, the Lady Bears dominated the rebound battle, 61-43, matching their largest rebounding surplus this season (+18 vs. Purchase 1/30). Although the Rams still managed a 36-28 points-in-the-paint advantage.
• St. Joseph's struggled to a 29.7 percent (22-74) shooting night, but stayed in contention with an impressive 89.5 percent (17-19) performance from the charity stripe.
• Both sides fell cold from long range, with St. Joseph's hitting just 4-of-23 (17.4%) and Farmingdale connecting on 4-of-25 (16.0%).

The Bear Facts

• The Lady Bears finish the regular season at 7-18 overall and 6-10 in the Skyline Conference.
• Despite dropping their final two contests, St. Joseph's clinched the sixth-and-final Skyline Tournament spot holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. Joseph's (Long Island) who can only tie the Lady Bears record with three games remaining.

Next up for the Lady Bears

The Lady Bears will have 10 days off before entering their first Skyline Conference Tournament looking to play the role of Cinderella as the sixth seed. Seeding is not yet finalized, with the final league games scheduled for next weekend, but SJC will play their first round game at the No. 3 seed on Tuesday, February 23.