Women’s Basketball Honors Three On Senior Day, Wrapping Up Season Against Mount Saint Mary

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The senior trio of Kristen Candelaria (Jamaica, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), Kristin Ferrigno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) and Samatha Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) played in their final games in Bears basketball jersey as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team dropped a 57-47 decision to Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday afternoon.

Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) led the Bears with 18 points and Destiny Marino (Howard Beach, N.Y./Christ the King) followed with 15. 

The Basics

• Final Score: Mount Saint Mary 57, St. Joseph's 47
• Records: St. Joseph's (9-16, 7-11), Mount Saint Mary (19-5, 15-3)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena:  The Hill Center
• SJC Starters: Marino (G), Simon (G), Porcasi (G), Ferrigno (F), Candelaria (F)

Turning Point

• After taking back the lead in the second on a Victoria Porcasi three-point play, a five-minute scoreless drought to close the first half put the Bears at a disadvantage they couldn't recover from.

How it Happened

• A Victoria Porcasi three-pointer opened the scoring before the Knight scored 11 unanswered to take the lead. But the Bears outscored the visitors 16-7 over the final five minutes—with two triples from Kristin Ferrigno helping to power the spurt—and held a 19-18 lead at the end of the first period.
• The Knights scored the first five points of the second stanza to go on top before Destiny Marino knocked down a triple and Porcasi completed a three-point play for a 6-0 run that put St. Joseph's up two nearing the midway point of the period, but were held scoreless over the remainder of the frame and trailed 33-27 at the intermission.
• A low-scoring third period saw both teams combine for just 20 points and 25 percent shooting but the visitors extended their lead to as many as 13 before the Bears closed the gap to eight, 44-36, with a Porcasi triple before the end of the quarter.
• Mount Saint Mary shot 60 percent in the final frame to prevent the Bears from to cutting into their lead.

For the Bears

• Sophomore Victoria Porcasi paced the Bears with 18 points, powered by three three-pointers, along with three assists and three rebounds.
• Junior Destiny Marino finished with 15 points, also draining two three-pointers, pulling down three boards and handing out two assists.
• Freshman Lauren Quesada added six points, five rebounds, and two assists coming off the bench.
• Senior Kristin Ferrigno grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and chipped in six points of a pair of three-pointers starting in her final game.
• Senior Samantha Simon handed out five assists and secured four caroms and senior Kristen Candelaria contributed two points, two rebounds and a block in their final game.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears dished out 13 assists on 16 made field goals.
• St. Joseph's forced 10 more turnovers (22-12) and converted those into a 16-8 points off turnover advantage.
• The Knights dominated the rebounding battle 48-29 and doubled up the Bears in points inside the paint, 32-16.
• Mount Saint Mary's Kayla Cleare led all scorers with 22 points and 18 rebounds as nine different Knights contributed to the final ledger.

The Bear Facts

• At the conclusion of the regular season, Destiny Marino finishes as the Skyline scoring leader at 17.0 points per game with Victoria Porcasi following closely behind in third at 15.3 points.
• St. Joseph's concludes their second season under Coach Tom Flahive in 7th place in the Skyline and improved on their win totals from last season to finish at 9-16 overall and 7-11 in the league.