Porcasi Powers Women’s Basketball Second-Half Surge Past Wesley

WASHINGTON — Behind a game-high 27 points from senior Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team used a strong second half to defeat Wesley College, 64-53, in the third-place game of the Jamie Lynn Roberts Tournament hosted by Catholic University on Sunday afternoon.

Porcasi scored 19 points after halftime as the Bears (8-4) outscored the Wolverines (3-8), 45-30, over the final 20 minutes to overcome playing without two regular starters, and reversing a four-point halftime deficit.

How It Happened

The Bears offense struggled throughout the first half without two regular starters, Caitlyn Staab (Lynbrook, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison), who were both sidelined with illness after playing in the opening round game yesterday. SJC connected on just 22 percent of their attempts and scored a season-low 19 first-half points.

Wesley was slightly more efficient connecting on 25 percent of their attempts and used a 12-5 second quarter to lead 23-19 at the intermission.

Coming out of the lockers, Porcasi nailed a triple that started a 16-6 run to open the frame and the Bears wouldn't trail again. SJC extended their lead to as many as 10, 41-31, on a Lauren Quesada layup at 2:33, but Wesley closed the final minute of the period on an 8-2 run to close the gap to four, 43-39.

Wesley made it a one-possession game early in the fourth before trifectas from Samantha Wilber (Island Heights, N.J./Central Regional) and Porcasi wrapped around a Quesada layup powered eight unanswered that pushed the lead back to double digits. The Wolverines pulled back within five late in the frame before a dagger Porcasi triple—her seventh of the game and fifth of the half—followed by a pair of buckets from Quesada put the game away.

The Bears would finish shooting 54 percent in the second half, Quesada shooting 6-of-7 and Porcasi nailing 5-of-6 from three-point land. Wesley won the battle of the boards, 56-42, but the were plagued by 26 percent shooting for the contest and just 1-of-18 from deep.

For the Bears

• Victoria Porcasi was named for the All-Tournament Team for her efforts, scoring her game high by way of 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-11 from behind the arc, playing all 40 minutes.
• Lauren Quesada finished with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes of action. The junior also grabbed seven boards, had four thefts and dished out three assists.
• Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine caroms.
• Samantha Wilber played all 40 minutes for the first time in her career and flirted with her first double-double scoring eight points while grabbing a career-high nine boards.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears resume Skyline Conference play in the new year heading to Purchase College on Saturday (Jan. 5) opening a doubleheader with the men starting at 2 p.m.