Women's Basketball Runs Away With 79-59 Win Over Farmingdale in League Opener

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In their home and Skyline opener, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team (2-2, 1-0 Skyline) clicked on all cylinders, cruising to a 79-59 win over Farmingdale State College (0-3, 0-1 Skyline) on Tuesday evening at The Hill Center.

Junior Lauren Quesada (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and one block while shooting 62.5 percent from the field (5-8) to lead four Bears in double figures.

How It Happened

The Bears let their offense come to them in the first quarter. Just three minutes into the game, a three-pointer from Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) sparked an early 11-2 run. They buckled down on defense matching their best defensive quarter of the season, outscoring the Rams, 23-11.

It was more of the same in the second stanza, as FSC scored five points in the first minute of the quarter, only to be held scoreless for the next four minutes. The Bears would once again capitalize, finishing out the last five minutes of the half on a 14-5 run to extend their lead. Quesada was just two points shy of her second-straight double-double going into the break.

Both offenses shined in the third, combining for 44 points. Farmingdale's Nia Miller had 10 of her 20 points in just the frame while the Bears' Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) fired back with eight points. A Porcasi layup at the 3:46 mark gave the Bears their largest lead of the game, 68-38, but the Rams closed out the quarter strong, with the navy and white still holding a 70-47 advantage at the final break,

The teams slowed down their pace in the fourth as both teams combined to shoot 6-for-35 with the visitors managing just 2-of-11 from the field, but the Rams ended the game on a 9-3 run over the last 5 minutes but it wouldn't be enough to cut into the Bears' lead.

For the Bears

• Porcasi led the team in scoring with 19 points on 58 percent (7-12) shooting from the field.
• Quesada's 18 rebounds fell one shy of their career high as she logged her second double-double of the season.
• Caitlyn Staab (Lynbrook, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) also nabbed a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, making this the second game of the season in which the Bears had two players with a double-double in one game.
• Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) added 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
• The victory snapped a three-game skid to the Rams, which included a first-round loss in the Skyline Championship last season.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears have a week of preparation for their next Skyline contest on Tuesday (Nov. 27) in their matchup at Yeshiva College (3-1, 1-0) at 8 p.m. with live stats available at SJCBears.com.