Women’s Basketball Looks to Break Fifth-Place Tie with Two Skyline Games This Week

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Following a thrilling finish to end last week on the wrong side of the scoreboard, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team looks ahead to two conference opponents on Tuesday and Thursday. Skyline Rookie of the Week Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) shined in the Bears' 72-69 OT road loss to Merchant Marine (Jan. 27), erupting for a career-high 32 points including the game-tying three to force an extra period. Her squad enters the week at 7-11 (5-6 Skyline) knotting them in a tie for fifth with Mount Saint Vincent.

Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.
vs. Farmingdale State

Opponent's Info: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Coverage: Video | Live Stats

Previously

• Along with her second 30-point game of the season, O'Donnell grabbed 10 boards (3 stl) for her team-leading fifth double-double of 2017-18. Additionally, the freshman secured her 15th-straight game with double-digit points. Besides O'Donnell, junior captain Victoria Porcasi (Franklin, Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) dropped 17 points (5-11 3FG) along with three dimes and two steals vs. the Mariners. Previous to the OT thriller, SJC dropped a one-sided Skyline battle with Mount Saint Vincent 70-35 (Jan. 24).
• The Rams recently halted a three-game skid in which they dropped a trio of conference showdowns. FSC downed Yeshiva (Jan. 28) by a wide margin (81-39) to hop back into the win column behind a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double from Essence Casey. Before that, Farmingdale fell to USMMA, SJCLI, and Old Westbury to drop them in the Skyline standings. Now, the Rams sit at 9-10 (8-5) and one spot ahead of St. Joseph's in the standings (fourth).

Keys to the Contest

• Due to O'Donnell's (16.6 ppg) recent play, SJC now boasts two top-five scorers in her and Porcasi (16.7 ppg) as they rank fifth and fourth respectively. These two power a Bears' offense that has scored the sixth-most points in the league thus far (1,104) and they are one of just two teams to have more than one player among the top-10 scorers (Purchase). If Porcasi gets hot from deep she can be hard to stop, leading the league in 3FG percentage among players with at least 2.5 3PM per game (32.9%). Freshman point guard Deserae Sequeira (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) has contributed in many facets of the game as of late, notching at least four dimes and five rebounds in her last two outings (career-high 7 ast vs. USMMA).
• Casey is the focal point for Farmingdale, as her 17.2 points a night lead the team and place her third in the conference. The senior forward is a problem on the glass as well, collecting 9.2 rpg (seventh) to average a near double-double. Classmate Kaelyn Ward provides additional scoring punch (14.7 ppg) to compliment Casey, and Ward does it on an efficient 41% 3FG% on top of 7.2 caroms/game. This pair spearheads an offense that's second in scoring (68 ppg) and is one of just five in the Skyline with a positive scoring margin (5.6). St. Joseph's defense will have their hands full as they've allowed the most overall points in the league thus far.

History

• The Bears fell to Farmingdale 84-55 on January 3 (O'Donnell: 18 pts, Ward: 32 pts) and they come in at 2-5 all-time against the Rams.

Thursday, February 1 at 7 p.m.
vs. Yeshiva

Opponent's Info: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Coverage: Video | Live Stats | Game Program

Previously

• Yeshiva took the court for the first time in nearly a month last week, splitting two conference matchups to bring their record to 4-12 (2-8). First, the Macs defeated Sarah Lawrence at home 48-43 (Jan. 25) on the back of 14 points from Nicole Bick and Michal Alge's 20 boards (9 pts). Then, YU challenged Farmingdale on the road (Jan. 28) and left with a one-sided loss (81-39) despite a 13-point, 16-rebound double-double from Alge. Before traveling to The Hill Center on Thursday, the Macs head to USMMA to take on the Mariners on January 30.

Keys to the Contest

• Alge enters the week at second in the Skyline in rebounding (14.9/game) to power a Yeshiva team that ranks sixth in the league in rebounding (43.1 rpg). On the other hand, the Bears give up 48.1 rebounds a night which puts them at sixth in the conference. The Macs boast a top-tier scorer of their own in Bick, as she begins the week eighth in the Skyline with 14.9 points per game. Last season, Porcasi average 13.5 ppg in two games versus Yeshiva and she should look to get hot from three this time around, as Yeshiva is one of four teams in the Skyline allowing more than 27.5% of opposing triples to fall (27.6%).

History

• SJC topped Yeshiva in their first meeting this year (Dec. 14) by 10 points (69-59) behind 31 from O'Donnell (Alge - 17 pts, 17 reb).