Women's Basketball Drops Hard-Fought Skyline Clash with USMMA

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In a highly-competitive Skyline Conference matchup, the St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) fell 77-63 to the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday afternoon at The Hill Center.

Destiny Hurt (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) kept the Bears in the game with a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds. Aaniya Telford (Brooklyn, N.Y. /Fontbonne Hall Academy) and Grace Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) each threw up 15 points.

How it Happened

The Bears held on to the lead for much of the first quarter, thanks in large part to Hurt going 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. The Mariners came to within one, 19-18, with 51 seconds left in the period but a Hurt triple put the Bears ahead 22-18 at the conclusion of the stanza.

A pair of Telford free throws gave SJBK their largest lead of the game at 4:09 in the second quarter, 31-22. USMMA closed the period by scoring seven unanswered points in the final two minutes to cut the Bears' lead to one, 35-34, at the intermission.

Merchant Marine erased the St. Joseph's advantage three minutes into the third quarter. Kennedy's foul shots eventually trimmed the USMMA edge to two, 48-46, before Hurt's stepback jumper with 16 seconds on the clock drew the game level at 48 apiece. However, Madison Demos drew a foul with under a second remaining to see the Mariners hold a two-point margin, 50-48, going into the fourth.

Two minutes into the final period, Hurt brought the Bears to 54-52 on a driving layup, the closest SJBK came to the visitors. USMMA ultimately held on to the lead, earning a 14-point road win.

For the Bears

• Hurt's 27 points were a game-high. She also dished out three assists.

• Telford went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. The rookie also had five assists and four rebounds.

• Kennedy scored 15-plus for the third time in as many games and the fifth time this season.

• Ayomide Adeoye (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow) collected five boards while Telford, Kristen Donovan (Maspeth, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), and Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) each had four

Up Next

The Bears step away from Skyline play as they host Clinton Hill rivals Pratt Institute on Tuesday, January 31 at 5 p.m. The contest will be part of a home doubleheader with Men's Basketball. Live stats and video will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live.