Fast Start and Pair of 20-Point Efforts Not Enough For Women's Basketball Against Mount Saint Vincent

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Despite 29 points from sophomore Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) and 26 from freshman Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team a double-digit lead slip away against defending Skyline Conference champions College of Mount Saint Vincent, falling 89-67 at The Hill Center on Monday night.

The Basics

• Final Score: Mount Saint Vincent 89, St. Joseph's 67
• Records: Mount Saint Vincent (11-8, 8-3 Skyline), St. Joseph's (6-15, 5-7 Skyline)
• Date: February 1, 2016
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: The Hill Center
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Eddy (G), Marino (G), Simon (G), Porcasi (G), Candelaria (F)
  • Mount Saint Vincent: Merrell (G), Carey (G), Barone (G), Nola (G), Clarke (F)

Turning Point

• With the game deadlocked at the half after SJC led by as many as 17, the sides traded leads eight times in a hard-fought third quarter. But Mount Saint Vincent unleashed a 23-5 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take control of the game for good.

How it Happened

• An early 9-0 run saw the Lady Bears grasp an 11-2 advantage less than four minutes into play. The Lady Bears continued the hot start and used another 7-0 spurt to move up 17 points, eventually ending the first quarter with a comfortable 25-14 advantage. Marino led the charge with 12 points in the frame with Porcasi adding eight.
• But the hot start ended quickly as the Lady Bears went without a field goal for the first 5:20 of the second stanza and the surging Dolphins ran off 11 consecutive points to claim their first lead, ending the run up 29-26 at the 4:58 mark. The Lady Bears would weather the storm however and entered the lockers knotted at 40-all.
• A competitive third stanza saw eight lead changes as the sides vied for control, but Mount Saint Vincent used a 6-1 run in the final three minutes to enter the fourth with momentum and a 61-55 lead.
• The Dolphins wouldn't relinquish the momentum as their lead ballooned to as many as 24 in a dominant fourth period.

For the Lady Bears

• Destiny Marino poured in a game-high 29 points, three shy of her career-best. Shooting 7-of-17 from the field, the sophomore did set new SJC single-game records in free-throws made (15) and attempts (23). In addition, Marino grabbed 10 boards for her seventh double-double of the season.
• Victoria Porcasi fell one short of her career-high with 26. The freshman shot 4-of-6 from downtown en route to her second consecutive 20-plus point performance and sixth of the season.
• Senior Erica Eddy chipped in nine points and hounded the opposing offense with a team-best six steals.

For the Dolphins

• Brittany Carroll led CMSV with 29 off the bench powered by a 5-of-11 shooting performance from three-point land.
• Kelly Nola led the starters with 17 points and corralled 11 boards for the double-double.
• Christina Barone compiled a double-double as well with 11 points and a game-high 12 dimes. The guard also led all players with seven thefts and added six rebounds in a strong all-around effort.
• Gabriella Melgar made 7-of-10 from the field in an 18-point effort off the bench.

Inside the Box Score

• St. Joseph's drained 8-of-14 attempts in the first quarter for a 57.1 percent connect-rate. But the Lady Bears shot 37.5 percent in the second, 33.3 percent in the third and made just 3-of-16 attempts (18.8%) in the final quarter.
• Led by Carroll (29) and Melgar (18), Mount Saint Vincent cumulated a massive 51-0 bench scoring advantage.
• The Dolphins won the turnover battle 24-18 and converted those miscues into 27 points.

The Bear Facts

• Now 5-7 in the conference, St. Joseph's falls to sixth in the standings with four games remaining on the regular season schedule. But the Lady Bears maintain a one-game lead over SJC Long Island in the race for the final playoff spot.
• Mount Saint Vincent sweeps the season series with the victory and improves to 17-10 in the all-time history.

Next up for the Lady Bears

With four regular season games remaining, all against Skyline Conference opponents, St. Joseph's has one day off to regroup before traveling to Albany, N.Y. for a meeting with Skyline unbeaten Sage on Wednesday, February 3. The action begins at 6 p.m. with live stats available on SJCBears.com.