Women's Basketball Wins Fourth Straight in Comeback Fashion at York

JAMAICA, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team had to rally from a double-digit deficit to extend their winning streak to four games, dismissing York College, 57-50, on Wednesday night at York College Gym.

The Lady Bears (13-8) erased an 11-point second-half deficit to avert a disappointing loss to a two-win York (2-19) squad who drops eight straight.

The senior tandem of Megan Moran (Syosset, N. Y./St. Dominic's) and Kelly McNamee (Glendale, N.Y./Mary Louis) paced the St. Joseph's offense sharing game-high honors with 17 points each. Moran also grabbed eight caroms while McNamee shot a perfect 5-for-5 at the line, helping to preserve the lead late in the game.

Sophomore Brittany Cervino (College Point, N.Y./St. Agnes) scored a career-high 14 points to round out three in double figures for the Lady Bears.

The Cardinals were led by Shauncia McClendon who had 12 points off the bench. Nia Rene and Stayce Kay Muirhead contributed double-doubles with 10 points each, Muirhead pulling down a game-best 11 boards, and Rene with one less carom.

St. Joseph's found themselves in an unexpected position trailing by six at the break, 27-21, and later by double digits 41-30 with 13:57 to play. But a 9-0 run capped by five straight points from McNamee clipped the deficit to two.

After the Cardinals pulled ahead by four, another big run gave the Lady Bears the lead for good, Moran scoring five points and Cervino four points over a 12-1 run in six minutes that gave St. Joseph's a 53-46 with just over three minutes.

TURNING POINT

The Lady Bears got within four, 34-30, with 15:53 left to play on a Kristin D'Chiutiis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Scholars Academy) jumper, but York followed with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 41-30, with 13:57 left to play.

St. Joseph's, realizing the game was slipping away, stepped up and went on a 17-5 run to give themselves their first lead since the first half, 47-46, with 6:06 left to play and led the rest of the way as they held the hosts without a field goal for the last 9:23 of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other Contributors: Taylor Raccuglia (5 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk) Kristin D'Chiutiis (4 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast)
• The Lady Bears shot just above 39 percent in both halves to finish the night at 39.3 percent (22-of-56), but were able to once again shutdown their opponent holding the Cardinals to only 27.1 percent (16-of-59) for the night.
• Both teams were plagued by turnovers combining for 50 on the night. St. Joseph's had 16 in the first half but trimmed that down to 11 in the second half. The Lady Bears forced 14 Cardinal turnovers in the second half leading to an 18-3 edge in the frame in points off turnovers.
• After not attempting a free throw in the first half, St. Joseph's finished 9-of-12 (75 percent) in the second half, while York concluded the night 15-of-22 (68.2 percent).
• The Lady Bears went 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc, while holding the Cardinals to 3-of-16 (18.8 percent).
• St. Joseph's held the edge on the boards, 43-39 after being outrebounded 21-17 in the opening half.
• The Lady Bears won the battle in the paint during the second half, 14-6, to finish the night with a 20-14 edge overall.

THE LADY BEAR FACTS

• Raccuglia becomes the second Lady Bear to record 100 blocks in her career and is now 21 behind all-time leader Zoe Robbins.
• St. Joseph's improves to 7-2 all-time against York, winning the last four meetings.
• Cervino breaks her previous career-high of eight points set against Vaughn last week.
• The Lady Bears conclude the season with a 3-3 mark against CUNYAC foes.
• Samantha Retas was held scoreless for the first time since December 28, 2012 against UC Santa Cruz.
• St. Joseph's secures a winning season away from Brooklyn Tech for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

NEXT UP FOR THE LADY BEARS – BRIARCLIFFE

St. Joseph's returns home on Friday, February 7th to face USCAA rivals Briarcliffe College at 7:30 p.m. in a game that has USCAA National Tournament implications.