Lady Bears Blow 18-Point Lead, Survive Against Medgar Evers, 60-58

Last week's HVWAC Rookie of the Week, Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY / St. Francis Prep), hit two free throws with 0:10 remaining giving St. Joseph's the deciding points in a 60-58 win on Tuesday night over local rival Medgar Evers College at Brooklyn Technical High School.

The early moments of the game brought reminders of the game against City Tech over the weekend, with a larger, quicker Medgar Evers team taking a slight early advantage, bolstered by the offensive duo of Tabrese Harris and Shauntelle Nelson who accounted for 17 of the Cougars first 19 points.  However the Lady Bears remained close and started to find their offense.  Freshman Joanna Marciniec(Brooklyn, NY / Baruch) came in as a reserve and sparked the Lady Bears on both ends of the court scoring 6 quick points and 3 steals within the first 4 minutes of entering the game which shifted the momentum in the Lady Bears direction.  A Marciniec jumper from McQuillan at 10:53 gave St. Joseph's the lead which they would hold on for the most of the remainder of the game.  Another long range jumper by Marciniec capped a 25-6 run which gave the SJC its largest lead at 14.  The Lady Bears utilized their pressure defense to force 14 turnovers and generating 9 steals and shot an improved 41 percent from the floor to take a 40-27 lead at halftime.

The second half seemed like St. Joseph's would cruise to an easy victory, quickly building the advantage to 18 points, but then the Lady Bears offense ran cold shooting 3 for 19 over a 10 minute span.  The SJC offensive futility coupled with calls that didn't fall in the Lady Bears favor sparked an 18-2 Medgar Evers run that would cut the advantage to two points with 6:31 to play.  Down the stretch, the Lady Bears continued to struggle to register a field goal, despite many close chances, however some aggressive moves to the hoop from Melissa Velez (Queens, NY / Mary Louis) and Julia Serewko(Queens, NY / Mary Louis) brought opportunities from the free throw line which helped hold off the Cougars temporarily.  With 0:26 left and St. Joseph's up by 2 with the ball, McQuillan missed a runner that Medgar Evers took down the court in transition for a mid-range jumper from Shana Scott-Samuels to tie the game at 58-58, prompting Coach Carbone to call a timeout.  Getting the ball back into the freshman point guard's hands at midcourt, McQuillan made a great move to draw the defender into a blocking foul to get to the charity stripe in the double bonus.  Sinking both free-throws with 0:10 remaining, Medgar Evers was forced to call their final timeout.  Having to travel the length of the court, the Cougars were only able to generate a long two-pointer that fell short, and St. Joseph's escaped with a 60-58 victory.

McQuillan led the Lady Bears in scoring for the second consecutive game dropping 17 and dishing out five assists.  After scoring a team-high 12 points in the first half, Marciniec finished with 14 points and six steals and six rebounds.  Serewko and freshman Kristin Binckes(Brooklyn, NY / St. Saviour) handled the load down low grabbing 15 and 12 boards respectively and Binckes adding eight points.  Medgar Evers was led by Tabrese Harris (22 points, 15 rebounds) and Shauntelle Nelson (22 points, 12 rebounds) who both turned in double-double performances.

Medgar Evers drops to 1-2 with the loss and St. Joseph's improves to 3-1 and takes a two-game winning streak to Washington, D.C. this weekend where they will play in the Gallaudet Thanksgiving Tournament.  They will face host school Gallaudet University in the opening round on Saturday.