Women's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season with Loss to Division I NJIT

NEWARK, N.J. – The St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) women's basketball team would jump out early to a lead to start the game, but could not maintain the lead as they were defeated by NCAA Division I opponent NJIT, 78-35, on Friday night at the Fleisher Athletics Center in Newark.

Senior Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) scored a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Bears (17-11), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) added 10 points to go with six boards, while Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) chipped in with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in a losing effort.

Martina Matejcikova recorded a double-double in the win for the Highlanders (12-16), leading four teammates in double figures with a game-high 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Alyssa Albanese finished with a double-double of her own, netting 15 points along with a game-high 13 assists and four rebounds. Nicole Maticka also swatted six shots to go with 11 points.

The Lady Bears started out strong in the first half, grabbing the first lead of the game and held it the first six and a half minutes of the game. Raccuglia scored seven of the first 10 points for the Lady Bears.

Later in the half, the Highlanders would take their first advantage to go up 13-10 with 10:55 remaining. After an NJIT timeout at 7:44, they would erupt for a 17-2 run to close out the half up 32-17.

In the second half, the Highlanders would use another big run (15-2) in the first five minutes to stretch the advantage to 28 and would not relinquish it the rest of the way. 

NJIT held St. Joseph's to just 26.3% from the field, their lowest shooting percentage on the season. The Highlanders shot 43.4% from the field, including draining 56.3% (nine for 16) from beyond the arc. They forced 23 Lady Bear turnovers, and scored 32 points off those mishaps. The Highlanders won both the rebounding (51-37) and assists (27-6) advantages.

Up next for the Lady Bears, they will prepare for their second straight trip to the USCAA Championships as the No. 8 seed in Uniondale, Pennsylvania. They will play the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 3rd when they take on top-ranked Concordia College (Ala.). Tip time is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.