Strong First Half Performance Not Enough in Women’s Basketball’s Loss to Husson

BOSTON — Despite a strong opening half which saw the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team drop a season-high 44 first-half points, the Bears (0-3) finished the Emmanuel College Tip-Off Classic in fourth place, following an 86-70 loss against Husson University on Sunday afternoon.

To go along with six rebounds and four steals, junior Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) scored a season-high 29 points in the game; putting her one point away from joining the 1,000-point club.

How it Happened

The opening quarter saw both sides trading buckets as the Eagles (1-1) leading 10-9 with 6:35 remaining. O'Donnell drained a corner three-pointer to put the Bears up by two, 12-10. However, even with the lead changing hands, Husson only led by as many as four. With under 90 seconds remaining in the quarter, O'Donnell tied the game on a jumper off an inbound which was followed by a layup by Deserae Sequeira (Clark N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) to cap off the quarter with the 23-21 lead.

O'Donnell extended the lead to start the second quarter, scoring the first eight Bears points of the period. The Eagles regained the lead halfway through the quarter, holding on to a 40-35 lead with over two minutes remaining before the intermission. The Bears began clawing back in the waning moments of the quarter as Lauren Duggan's (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Saviour) jumper tied the game at 41-all followed by a three-point basket by Alexis Breen (Union Beach, N.J./Keyport) to take the three-point halftime lead at 44-41.

As O'Donnell continuing the scoring for the Bears, their lead started to evaporate as Husson slowly mounted a comeback in the third quarter. However, as the Eagles led by seven, their largest lead at the time, SJC would once again chip away at the deficit. Sequeira brought the deficit to within three, 63-60, sinking a three-pointer in front of the Bears bench as time expired.

Husson began to distance themselves, going up by ten to start the fourth period. The Bears were limited to ten points in the quarter with Duggan and Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) scoring four points each as the Eagles closed out the game on top, 88-70.

For the Bears

• O'Donnell's 29 points led all players.
• Sequeira put up seven points and dished out six assists.
• Breen also provided six assists to go along with six points.
• Duggan recorded a personal-best ten points coming off the bench.

Up Next

The Bears open their home schedule on Wednesday, November 20 against borough rivals Brooklyn College at The Hill Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com/live.