Women's Basketball Rallies From Halftime Deficit to Top New Rochelle on Senior Night, 66-50

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Four Lady Bears scored in double figures as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team rallied from ten points down in the second half as they defeated the College of New Rochelle, 66-50, in their regular season finale Tuesday night at the Hill Center.

With the win, the Lady Bears (15-10, 5-1 HVIAC) snapped a three-game losing streak and clinched the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament -- the Lady Bears and Blue Angels will square off again on Saturday in the semifinals.

As the team celebrated Senior Night, both seniors stepped up in a winning effort. Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) tallied a double-double, scoring a team-high 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) recorded her 12th double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.

Freshman Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds. Erica Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) came off the bench and contributed a season-high 11 points.

Jah-Leah Ellis led the Blue Angels (11-9, 4-2 HVIAC) with a double-double, scoring a game-high 20 points, including 14 for 16 from the charity stripe, and grabbing a game-high 23 rebounds. Alyssa Pechin netted 19 points in a losing cause, including hitting four three-pointers.

Both teams would be evenly matched to start the first half, with six lead changes and four ties. Tied at 21 with 4:48 remaining in the half, the Blue Angels held the Lady Bears scoreless the rest of the stanza. They would unleash a 9-0 run to close out the half up 30-21.

In the second half, St. Joseph's would begin to chip away at the New Rochelle advantage. Trailing by ten points thirty seconds into the half, Retas would drill a triple then Eddy would score after swiping the ball to cut it to five. After a New Rochelle basket, Eddy would then score another layup followed by a three-pointer which sliced the deficit to one. Retas would follow that with a second three to give the Lady Bears the lead. It was part of an outstanding 29-5 run over the first 11 minutes of the stanza that would put the game out of reach for the win.

The St. Joseph's defense held Ellis, the best shooting player in the HVIAC, to just 3-of-23 shooting. They held the Blue Angels overall to 30.3% shooting from the field, and forced 17 turnovers which led to 22 Lady Bear points.The Lady Bears dominated on the inside, tallying 34 points in the paint

The Lady Bears will now go for their second HVIAC title in three years as they will have a rematch with the Blue Angels in the conference semifinals Saturday afternoon. Tip time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Albert M. White Gymnasium in Albany. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com.

Senior Night Game Program