O'Donnell's 28 Not Enough for Women's Basketball at Purchase

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Sophomore Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) turned in team highs of 28 points and 14 rebounds, but the St. Joseph's College women's basketball team dropped a 77-68 decision to Purchase College in Skyline Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

In a game that saw neither squad lead by double digits, the Bears (8-5, 5-2) pulled within one headed into the fourth quarter but the Panthers (7-5, 5-2) used a strong final 10 minutes to hand the Bears their second league loss.

How It Happened

An O'Donnell three-point play followed by a Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) triple put the Bears ahead early, 6-4, but a four-minute scoring drought later in the period allowed the Panthers to race off with 11 straight points but baskets from Caitlyn Staab (Lynbrook, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and Lauren Quesada (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) to close the period saw the Bears at five-point deficit at the first break, 17-12.

The second quarter saw the hosts reextend their lead back up to nine again but a 9-2 Bear run shrank the lead to 28-26 with 2:35 before halftime. O'Donnell would later convert on two pairs of free throws in the final minute to tie the game at 31-all, but Purchase took a 34-31 lead into the lockers.

SJC maintained a higher connect rate in the third (47%-30%) led by seven points from Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) and six from Samantha Wilber (Island Heights, N.J./Central Regional) but the Bears couldn't take the lead from the hosts, but closed the deficit to one, 52-51, at the final break.

The final 10 minutes saw the Bears remain within reach—trailing by no more than two—but still couldn't overtake the Panthers and they went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to hold off the Bears.

For the contest, both teams were tied in rebounds (53-53) and SJC marginally outshot Purchase (36%-33%), but the Panthers attempted nearly twice as many free throws (30-17) and committed fewer turnovers (11-20) and leading to a 19-10 edge in points off turnovers.

For the Bears

• Kelly O'Donnell recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 28 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Lauren Quesada turned in her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and matching her career high of six dimes.
• Victoria Porcasi rounded out three in double figures for SJC with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears return to The Hill Center for two straight home games. They look to win their 10th straight game over sibling rivals SJC Long Island on Tuesday (Jan. 8). Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. kicking off a doubleheader with the men with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com.