O’Donnell Sets Single-Game Steals Record as Women’s Basketball Denies Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — Needing a win and some help from other Skyline teams to clinch a playoff spot, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team traveled to Sarah Lawrence College on Saturday afternoon and defeated the Gryphons by a final score of 75-28. Skyline Rookie of the Week Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) led the Bears setting the program's single-game steals record with 10 to compliment her game-high 22 points, while the victory maintains SJC's sixth-place ranking in the Skyline standings and evens their league record at 8-8.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 75, Sarah Lawrence 28
• Records: St. Joseph's (10-13, 8-8), Sarah Lawrence (1-19, 0-15)
• Location: Bronxville, N.Y. — Campbell Sports Center
• SJC Starters: O'Neill (G), Porcasi (G), O'Donnell (G), Raccuglia (F), Staab (C)

Turning Point

• The Bears closed the second quarter on a 20-2 spurt to go up by 26 at the break and they did not look back from there.

How It Happened

• O'Donnell scored the Bears' first seven points on a three-ball and two steals leading to fast break layups, putting them up 7-1 halfway through the first (5:49). SJC held the hosts scoreless for the final nine minutes and led 12-1 after one behind nine points and six steals from O'Donnell.
• Back-to-back Tess Carrier triples early in the second brought the Gryphons back into it (8:56) narrowing the gap to 15-7. However, St. Joseph's ran off to a 20-2 run (11 from O'Donnell) over the frame's final eight minutes to establish a 35-9 advantage at intermission.
• Five-straight SJC points from captain Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) capped off an 11-2 Bears' run to open the third, extending their lead to 46-11 (5:39). The Gryphons scored five points in the final 30 seconds of the stanza but still trailed 56-19 entering the fourth.
• Sophomore center Catherine Drago (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) netted 10 of her career-high 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears won the period 19-9 to secure the season sweep of SLC in the Gryphons' first year of varsity competition.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell scored 10+ points for the 21st-straight game with 22 (10-19 FG), as well as eight boards and a career-high 10 steals and the double-double was her team-leading seventh of the season.
• Porcasi finished with 13 points (4-13 FG) for her eighth-straight outing in double-figures (22nd of season), along with four caroms and two assists.
• Junior center Caitlyn Staab (Lynnbrook, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and sophomore guard Gina Hopkins (Astoria, N.Y./Msngr. McClancy) had a team-high nine rebounds apiece and for Hopkins, the total was a career high, while she also notched a career-high three steals.

Inside the Box Score

• Nine points allowed in the first half and one point allowed in the first quarter are both season lows for the Bears' defense.
• SJC racked up 70 rebounds, their second-highest single-game total in program history, as freshman Jolie Rodriguez (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI HS) pulled down a career-high seven while scoring a career-high six points.
• Fellow rookie Cailee Greco (Lindenhurst, N.Y./East Islip) also set a career high in boards with six in a season-high 15 minutes.

The Bear Facts

• Graduate forward Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) recorded her 182nd career block in the game to break assistant coach Samantha Retas' all-time program record.
• At sixth in the Skyline, the Bears can clinch a postseason berth with another win or an SJC Long Island loss (the sibling rivals meet on Feb. 17).
• O'Donnell put up 20+ points for the eighth time this season and the third in her last four games. 

Next Up for the Bears

• A return to The Hill Center playing host to Mount Saint Mary on Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 5 p.m. with live stats and video available at SJCBears.com.