O'Donnell and Porcasi Combine for 48; Women's Basketball Runs Away from Purchase

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — An early run of scoring ignited a start-to-finish win for the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team (13-7, 10-4 Skyline) over Purchase College (9-10, 7-7 Skyline) on Tuesday night. They have now split their season series with the Panthers following tonight's 77-53 win at The Hill Center.

How It Happened

A three-pointer from Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) jumpstarted an 18-1 run for St. Joseph's, as the Bears held the Panthers to just 0-for-14 shooting from the field to open the game. Purchase would stop the bleeding when Alfa DeJesus finished a layup with 2:41 left in the quarter, sparking a 9-5 run that would close the gap to 23-10, with SJC holding the advantage heading into the second.

The Bears would pick up right where they left off, building their lead to 19 going into intermission. Despite shooting around 35 percent from the field, the Bears grabbed their first half advantage behind Kelly O'Donnell's (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) 16 points on efficient 6-for-10 shooting.

Senior co-captain Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) opened up Bears' second-half scoring with a turnaround jumper after grabbing her own rebound on a layup attempt. The Panthers would not back down, looking to cut into the Bears lead, narrowly outscoring the SJC in the opening minutes of the quarter. However, Provino would answer back draining consecutive three-pointers, with about 4:55 left in the quarter, that expanded the Bears lead to a 27 points, their largest of the game.

The final frame saw junior co-captain Lauren Quesada (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) score an and-one layup, converting the extra point to nab her second double-double effort in the last three outings for the Bears. Following the three-point play, the Bears would close out the remaining 2:56 easily to avenge their January 5 loss to the Panthers.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell had 25 points, six boards, and five steals. O'Donnell shooting 9-for-15 (60%) on the game.
• Porcasi scored 23 points, pulled down six caroms and dished out three assists in the win.
• Provino knocked down four three-pointers (fourth time this season) to score her second-highest point total with 15.
• Quesada scored 10 points and grabbed 15 boards for her 10th double-double of the season.

Next Up for the Bears
The Bears go on the road Thursday night (Jan. 31) to take on Merchant Marine in the first game of a basketball double-header, tipping off at 5:30 with live stats and video available at SJCBears.com