O’Donnell Scores 1,000th Point; Kiley Pours In 29 as Women’s Basketball Stops Brooklyn in Home Opener Play Video

O’Donnell Scores 1,000th Point; Kiley Pours In 29 as Women’s Basketball Stops Brooklyn in Home Opener

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Junior Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) became the eleventh player in program history to score 1,000 career points on Wednesday night as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team defeated their borough rivals Brooklyn College, 79-72, to pick up their first win of the season. Rookie Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and senior Lauren Quesada (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) both had near double-doubles as the Bears (1-3) overcame a 17-point deficit to hand the Bulldogs (3-1) their first loss of the season.

How it Happened

Two minutes into the game, O'Donnell plateaued 1,000 points on a layup courtesy of a pass from Quesada. Holding on to a slim early 11-9 lead, the Bulldogs retook the lead on a three-pointer from Dasha Goodman; ending the first quarter with a seven-point lead at 23-16.

Brooklyn began the second frame on a 9-0 run, ballooning their advantage to 17—their largest of the game. Kiley put an end to their lead, scoring the first of her 10 points in the quarter as the Bears went on a 10-point run. The reigning Skyline Rookie of the Week ended the quarter shooting 5-for-5. SJC ended the half scoring eight unanswered, cutting their deficit to two, 39-37.

Quesada began the second half with four straight points, giving the Bears the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. A three by the senior forward put SJC up 46-41 before the visitors tied the game at 48-48 with 6:03 remaining in the period. An O'Donnell putback gave the Bears a lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the game at 50-48 and Kiley poured in 10 points for the second-straight quarter to give SJC a 58-54 lead headed to the final quarter.

The Bears opened the final stanza on a 12-3 spurt to build their largest lead of the game at 70-57 with 4:52 to play. Brooklyn threatened to make a comeback scoring eight straight in a minute to cut the Bears lead to five, but the SJC held off the Bulldog charge at the charity stripe down the stretch for their first win of the season, 79-72. 

Post-Game Interview

For the Bears

  • The trio of Kiley, Quesada, and O'Donnell combined for 67 of the Bears' 79 points in the victory.
  • Kiley, who was named the Skyline Conference's Rookie of the Week following her performance over the weekend, dropped an early season-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead all players in her first collegiate home game.
  • Both Kiley and Quesada were one rebound short of their second double-doubles of the season, securing nine caroms.
  • O'Donnell recorded her first double-double of the season, pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with her 18 points. She now stands at 1,017 career points, surpassing former Bear and current assistant coach Samantha Retas '15 for ninth on St. Joseph's all-time scoring list in just 56 career games.
  • Quesada scored a season-high 20 points in the victory, knocking down eight of 12 free throws in the process.
  • Provino and Deserae Sequeira (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) each dished out five assists.
  • This is the first time the Bears won consecutive games against the Bulldogs since winning seven straight from 2000-2005. 

Up Next

The Bears open up Skyline Conference play on the road against Farmingdale State on Saturday, November 23. Tip-off from George E. Nold Hall is scheduled for noon with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com/live.