O’Donnell Forces OT but Merchant Marine Trips Up Women’s Basketball

KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Looking to bounce back from a one-sided Skyline loss their last time out, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team headed to Kings Point for a road game at Merchant Marine on Saturday. The Bears held a seven-point halftime lead, but they needed a three from rookie Kelly O'Donnell (career-high 32 pts) with five seconds remaining to force overtime. However, the Mariners hung on to sweep the season series over SJC.

The Basics

• Final Score: Merchant Marine 72, St. Joseph's 69
• Records: Merchant Marine (13-5, 9-3), St. Joseph's (7-11, 5-6)
• Location: Kings Point, N.Y. — Liebertz Gym
• SJC Starters: Sequeira (G), Porcasi (G), O'Donnell (G), Raccuglia (F), Staab (C)

Turning Point

• The hosts reeled off a 14-0 run to end the third quarter and cut a 16-point deficit to two as they entered the fourth down just 48-46.

How It Happened

• St. Joseph's fell behind 13-4 early but scored the last seven point of the period capped off by a Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) layup (0:01) as her team trailed 13-11 after one.
• Center Catherine Drago's (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) second deep-ball of the second (4:45) put the Bears up 45-42, while O'Donnell poured in SJC's last eight points of the half to give them a 35-28 lead at intermission.
• Porcasi and O'Donnell scored all but two of the Bears points on their 13-4 run over the first seven minutes of the third, but USMMA used the 14-0 finish to keep things close entering the final stanza.
• A Kaleigh D'Arcy jumper at 2:37 in the fourth had the Mariners up by six, but O'Donnell took over late scoring eight points in the final two minutes as well as her OT-forcing trey. However, Merchant Marine held SJC scoreless over the final two minutes of overtime to secure their ninth league win.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell notched her fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds (3 stl) to go with her game-high 32 (12-23, 4-10, 4-4).
• Porcasi finished with 17 points, three dimes, and two steals.
• Drago pitched in nine points (3-4, 3-3 3FG) along with a season-high eight rebounds off the bench.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears served up more assists in the loss (16-13, led by point guard Deserae Sequeira's (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) seven (5 reb).
• SJC shot an efficient 41.9% from long-range compared to the hosts' 33.3% clip.

The Bear Facts

• With the defeat, the Bears sit at 5-6 in the conference, good for a fifth-place tie with Mount Saint Vincent.
• O'Donnell extended her double-digit scoring streak to 16 games and tallied her second 30-point outing of the year.

Next Up for the Bears

• A Skyline battle facing Farmingdale at The Hill Center on Tuesday (Jan. 30) with tip set for 5 pm. Live stats and video at SJCBears.com.