Women’s Basketball Makes Fourth-Quarter Surge at USMMA

KINGS POINT, N.Y. —  The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team cut a 17-point deficit down to five in the fourth quarter to give second-place United States Merchant Marine Academy a scare, but ultimately fell 67-59 decision on Tuesday night.

Senior Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) scored 21 points and junior Alexis Breen (Union Beach, N.J./Keyport) chipped in 10 points to lead the Bears (4-14, 4-11 Skyline).

Grace Jackson scored a game-high 26 to lead the Mariners (16-3, 12-3 Skyline) who won their seventh straight.

How it Happened

An 8-3 run sparked by back-to-back triples from Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) gave the Bears an early lead and they remained on top 12-9 at the first intermission.

The Bears led by as many as four on multiple occasions in the second quarter, but the Mariners closed out the final three minutes of the half outscoring the Bears 12-3 to take a 32-26 into the lockers.

SJC couldn't cut into the deficit in the third and they fell behind by as many as 17. Trailing by 13 entering the final period, the Bears opened the fourth on a 7-0 run with Breen's trifecta followed by Ayomide Adeoye's (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow) pulling the Bears within six, 51-45, with 8:40 to play. 

The Mariners pulled away to another double-digit lead before the Bears made one last charge with O'Donnell scoring 10 of the Bears' final 12 points with her three-pointer with 35 seconds left bringing SJC within five, 64-59.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell's eighth 20-point game of the season came against the stingiest defense in the league. She paired her 21 points with five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
• Breen finished with 10 points and a team-high four assists with two boards.
• Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) added eight points and five rebounds with four rejections.
• Provino played all 40 minutes and chipped in six points while securing a team-best eight caroms and two steals.

Next Up

The Bears wrap up non-league play with a match-up against Willoughby Avenue rivals Pratt Institute on Thursday, February 3 tipping off at 6 p.m. Spectators are still not allowed at this time, but live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.