Breen’s 17 Not Enough as Manhattanville Tops Women’s Basketball

PURCHASE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team fell to Manhattanville College by a final score of 66-49 on Wednesday night from the John F. Kennedy Gymnasium. The loss is just the Bears' second blemish in Skyline Conference play, dropping to 5-2 in league play (7-5 overall) while the Valiants improved to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the conference.

How it Happened

In an opening period that saw five ties and three lead changes, junior guard Kelly O'Donnell led the Bears with six points; including a layup that gave the Bears a temporary lead at 8-6 less than six minutes into the period. Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) provided four points of her own in the quarter however the Valiants scored eight of the last 10 points in the period as they went into the second stanza with the 16-10 lead.

The hosts started distancing themselves from the Bears in the second quarter. Manhattanville led by as many as 18 in the period before the Bears used three-pointers from Lauren Duggan (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Saviour) and Alexis Breen (Union Beach, N.J./Keyport) to chip away at the Valiant lead to go into halftime down 36-23.

O'Donnell netted the first six points of the second half to reduce the Valiant lead to seven. Manhattanville once again took a double-digit advantage with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Breen scored all eight SJC points in the final 3:12 of the period but Manhattanville took a 51-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Bears came to within 11 points of the Valiants, as O'Donnell and Kiley drained the first two baskets of the final period. Breen led the team with five points in the fourth with fellow freshman Kiley right behind her with four. However, Manhattanville closed out the game with the 17-point victory, 66-49.

For the Bears

• Breen scored a game- and season-high 17 points in a losing effort.
• O'Donnell went for a double-double, dropping 14 points and picking up 10 rebounds.
• Kiley registered eight points, nine boards, and five blocks.

Up Next

This Saturday, January 11, The Bears return to The Hill Center for the first time in over a month as they square off against Mount Saint Mary College, who sit atop the Skyline with a 6-0 record. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com/live.