O’Donnell Scores 2,000th Point, Breaks Scoring Record in Women’s Basketball Season Finale at Manhattanville

PURCHASE, N.Y. —  In the final 10 minutes of her decorated career, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) senior Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) solidified her spot as the most prolific scorer in Bears history, joining the exclusive 2,000-point scoring club and setting a new program scoring standard as the women's basketball team concluded their 2021-22 season with an 89-65 loss to Manhattanville on the road.

With her game-high 24 points, O'Donnell became the 53rd player in Division III women's basketball history to score 2,000 points. Finishing with 2,009 points, she surpassed Rosanne Wahl '00 at 2,004 points as the new scoring leader.

How it Happened

After a slow start, the Bears (6-18, 5-15) fell behind by as many as 13, 23-10, with 1:52 left in the first before SJC assembled a 16-6 run in the second to draw even at 30-all powered by five points from Grace Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy). But the Valiants (18-7, 14-6) closed out the final 2:38 of the period on a 9-4 run for 41-36 halftime lead.

Needing 20 points entering the game to break the record, she netted nine points and Kennedy followed with seven as seven different Bears scored in the period.

Manhattanville widened their lead in the third as the Bears managed just three field goals but O'Donnell added four points to bring her total to 13 to be on the cusp of the milestone but fell slightly behind pace to break the record.

In the Bears' opening possession of the fourth, O'Donnell made a tough drive and finish from the free-throw line to reach the 2,000-point plateau. After a timeout to recognize O'Donnell's milestone and a Valiant record broken in the following play, she picked up a quick transition basket to pull within two of tying the record. 

WBB (Highlight) | A tough finish for O'Donnell for her milestone 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ th point! #BearWitnessSJC #SJCNY #d3hoops #SkylineWBB pic.twitter.com/5scntIpH0T

— St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Bears (@SJCBears) February 19, 2022

Two possessions later at the 7:30 mark,  it was only fitting that she would tie and break the record with a three-point play. Alexis Breen (Union Beach, N.Y./Keyport) fed O'Donnell with an entry pass over the top for an open look at a layup and was fouled and the ensuing free throw for the record hit nothing but net.

WBB (Highlight) | O'Donnell ties and breaks the SJC scoring record with an AND-1 ��#BearWitnessSJC #SJCNY #d3hoops #SkylineWBB pic.twitter.com/vCd2DMCLtK

— St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Bears (@SJCBears) February 19, 2022

O'Donnell added a pair of free throws and a jumper to lead the Bears with 11 in the period but it wasn't enough to pull the Bears back into the game as the Valiants shot 9-of-19 (47 percent) and continued to distance themselves from the blue and gray.

For the Bears

• The league's leading free-throw shooter O'Donnell collected half of her 24 from the charity stripe going 12-for-15. She also grabbed a team-high-tying seven rebounds to push her program record to 978.
• Emma Kiley (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) added 12 points and shared team-high honors with O'Donnell with seven boards. She also added two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
• Breen rounded out three in double figures with 11 points and accumulated five rebounds, five assists, and a career-high five steals.
• Kennedy finished with seven points and two rebounds off the bench.
• Jamie Provino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) drained a trifecta to close out her career with 153 three-pointers (5th all-time) and with a 17-game streak with a made triple.