Women’s Basketball Snaps Three-Game Skid at Home Over Yeshiva

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Four Bears in double-figures led the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team past Yeshiva University on Thursday night. SJC was led by Skyline Rookie of the Week Kelly O'Donnell's (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) game-high 25 points as well as a team-high eight rebounds. With the win, the Bears improve to 8-12 (6-7 Skyline) maintaining their fifth-place tie with Mount Saint Vincent.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 81, Yeshiva 60
• Records: St. Joseph's (8-12, 6-7), Yeshiva (4-14, 2-10)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. — The Hill Center
• SJC Starters: Sequeira (G), Porcasi (G), O'Donnell (G), Raccuglia (F), Staab (C)

Turning Point

• Back-to-back SJC threes just before the break (1:53) extended their lead to double-digits (36-25) for the first time all game.

How It Happened

• Yeshiva held an early 8-4 lead, but it wouldn't last as two treys from O'Donnell and another from center Catherine Drago (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) gave the hosts a 13-10 lead late in the first (2:25). O'Donnell then finished the period with back-to-back buckets to give her team a 19-12 lead after one.
• The Macs hung around, however, as a Michal Alge (17 pts, 18 reb) finish brought them back within one (23-22) at 6:03 in the second. Captain Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) kept the Bears going with four-straight points (4:50) followed by two Samantha Wilber (Island Heights, N.J./Central Regional) deep-balls in under 20 seconds as part of a 14-2 SJC run to close out the period giving them a 41-27 halftime advantage.
• Five quick points from junior Caitlyn Staab (Lynnbrook, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) three minutes into the third extended their lead to 21 (50-29) and they wouldn't look back from there. Porcasi closed out the frame with two baskets in the final minute ballooning the score to 66-40 after three.
• Drago scored St. Joseph's first five points of the fourth, but the Macs responded with an 11-1 spurt capped by a Nicole Bick (team-high 18 pts) three-pointer cutting the lead back down to 20 (71-51) at 7:31. YU won the quarter 20-15, but it proved too late as the Bears completed the season sweep with two double-digit victories.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell added four dimes and two takeaways to her team-highs of 25 points (9-13, 3-4, 4-5) and eight boards.
• Staab chipped in 16 points for her second-straight game in double-figures on an extremely efficient 6-7 FG (4-5 FT).
• Porcasi added 11 points with season-highs of seven assists and four steals.

Inside the Box Score

• St. Joseph's bench outscored the visitors' 26-13, led by Drago's 11 points (4-11, 2-5, 1-2) along with six caroms, three blocks (third 3-block game of season), and a season-high three steals.
• The Bears defense excelled, holding Yeshiva to a 30.3% field-goal percentage while converting at a 44.4% mark themselves.

The Bear Facts

• With two blocks in the game, graduate forward Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) sits one shy of tying the all-time school record (181) held by assistant coach Samantha Retas '15.
• SJC has now won 24-straight matchups with the Maccabees.

Next Up for the Bears

• A Skyline battle at The Hill Center against sister-school SJC Long Island on Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m. with live stats and video at SJCBears.com. The Golden Eagles (7th) rank one spot below the Bears (t-5th) in the league standings.