Women's Basketball Knocks Off St. Mary's (Md.) in Opener; Advance to Saturday's Seahawk Invitational Final

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD. — After trailing 15-9 in the opening quarter, the St. Joseph's University, NY (Brooklyn) women's basketball team outscored St. Mary's College (Md.) 43-16 in the next two periods to win the opening game of the Seahawk Invitational, 69-54, on Friday evening from the Michael P. O'Brien Arena.

Senior Alexis Breen (Union Beach, N.J./Keyport) led all scorers with 27 points on 50 percent shooting and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and Destiny Hurt (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) each picked up double-doubles, combining for 28 points and 23 rebounds.

How it Happened

Following a Seahawk (1-1) bucket, both sides went cold for nearly three minutes when Hurt netted the first points for the Bears (1-0). The hosts took control of the quarter, leading 15-9 going into the second.

Early triples from Kiley and Breen tied the game at 15 to begin the second stanza, with SJBK taking the lead on Kiley's jumper with 7:28 on the clock. Despite SMCM coming to within one, 19-18, the Bears held on to the lead for the rest of the contest; taking a seven-point lead into the locker room, 31-24.

An 11-4 run, capped off by a Kristen Donovan (Maspeth, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) trey gave the navy and gray a 16-point advantage, 42-26. Outscoring the Seahawks 43-16 in the second and third quarters, the Bears shot 16-of-32 from the field compared to the hosts' 5-of-30. Breen scored 19 points in the stretch.

With the Bears holding a 52-31 lead entering the final period, the Seahawks began chipping at the SJBK advantage, cutting it down to 13 with 3:47 to play (59-46). The closest the hosts got to the Bears was at the minute mark trailing by 10, 64-54. A potential three-ball to cut the Brooklyn lead to single digits with 47 seconds left was missed as the Bears held on from the stripe to take a 69-54 win.

For the Bears

• Breen's 27-point game surpassed her previous career best of 23 from last season's contest against Old Westbury.
• Kiley posted a 15-point, 13-rebound, five-assist game with her caroms leading both teams.
• Hurt had 13 points and 10 boards in her Bears debut.
• Donovan rounded out the players in double figures, scoring 10 on five rebounds.
• Grace Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) was third on the team with eight rebounds.
• Breen and Donovan played all 40 minutes of the game.

Up Next

Hunter College, who defeated the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford 82-66 in the second semifinal, will take on the Bears in the Seahawk Invitational Championship game on Saturday, November 12 at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live