Women’s Basketball Scores Coach Flahive’s 100th Victory Upending Farmingdale on Alumni Day

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Behind Destiny Marino's (Howard Beach, N.Y./Christ the King) 23 points and Lauren Quesada's (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) 19-point, 19-rebound double-double, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) picked up a key Skyline Conference 91-81 victory over Farmingdale State College on Saturday afternoon on Alumni and Family Day. With the victory, Head Coach Tom Flahive reached the 100-win milestone in nine seasons at the helm of the Bears and Queens College. 

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 91, Farmingdale State 81
• Records: St. Joseph's (7-13, 5-8), Farmingdale State (11-9, 9-5)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena:  The Hill Center
• SJC Starters: Marino (G), Alioto (G), Porcasi (G), Quesada (F), Candelaria (F)

Turning Point

• The Bears shot 8-for-16 in the third quarter and Lauren Quesada led the charge with 11 points as the Bears outscored the Rams 24-13 in the period to build a nine-point lead headed into the final frame.

How it Happened

• Farmingdale State raced out to a 10-point lead, 17-7, less than five minutes into the first, but the Bears erased the deficit to tie the game at 21-all at the first break, sparked by trifectas from Victoria Porcasi, Destiny Marino and Samantha Simon.
• The second stanza was tightly contested with six ties and six lead changes and neither team up by more than three points with an Essence Casey layup with 20 seconds left giving the visitors a 40-38 lead at the intermission.
• But the Bears took control of the game with a strong third quarter, Victoria Porcasi's trifecta jump starting an 11-1 run and the Bears built a 51-43 lead at the midway point of the half. St. Joseph's continued to keep their foot on the gas and never let Farmingdale any closer than five, with Lauren Quesada's layup just before the end of the quarter notching her 11th point of the period and giving the Bears a nine-point lead, 62-53, headed to the final frame.
• The Bears thwarted any hope for a comeback in the fourth with Marino scoring 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and Porcasi shot 6-for-6 from the stripe to finish with nine points in the quarter to keep the lead in double-digits until the final buzzer.

For the Bears

• Destiny Marino shot 9-of-16 from the field and tallied 23 points and six rebounds, both game highs. She also grabbed four boards and swiped two steals in her fifth 20-point game of the season.
• Freshman Lauren Quesada logged her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and as many rebounds, matching her career high in boards. She shot 6-of-10 from the field and filled the stat line with two assists and a block.
• Sophomore Victoria Porcasi also scored 19 points, shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe, for her eighth straight game in double figures, also grabbing seven rebounds.
• Sophomore Kellie O'Neill rounded out four in double figures with 12 points off the bench, shooting an efficient 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears matched their season high scoring 91 points for the third time this season, all SJC victories.
• St. Joseph's also won the rebounding battle by a 55-44 margin. The Bears also finished at a 44 percent (27-61) connect rate and held the Rams to just 35 percent (28-79) shooting. 
• The Bears attempted a season-high 42 free throws hitting on 30 (71%) as Farmingdale State committed 28 fouls and saw three Rams foul out.
• AJ Smith led four Rams in double figures with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Essence Casey and Tyra Harrison added 16 points each in defeat.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's snaps a four-game skid to Farmingdale in the all-time series winning their first since 2001 to cut the Rams lead in the series to 4-2.
• With the victory, the Bears (5-8) move back within one game of playoff position in behind USMMA (6-7) in sixth place, but the Mariners hold the tiebreaker sweeping the season series.
• St. Joseph's debuted their pink uniforms at home hosting their second Play4Kay game uniting with hundreds of schools across the nation joining the fight against cancer.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears (7-13, 5-8) will try to sweep the season series from Yeshiva (2-15, 0-12) meeting for the second time in a span of seven days on Tuesday, February 7 and tipping off at 7 p.m. in Manhattan.