Women's Basketball Rides Second-Half Run to Topple York

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) recorded a double-double and Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) notched a career-high in scoring as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team fought back in the second half to top York (N.Y.), 76-62 at Brooklyn Technical High School on Saturday.

The senior Retas scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds for the Lady Bears (2-0), while the sophomore McGowan scored a career-best 20 points to go along with seven rebounds.

Brittany Cervino (College Point, N.Y./St. Agnes) chipped in 14 points and Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) added 11 points, grabbed four boards and dished out five assists. Freshman Destiny Marino (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) netted eight points and led the team with six assists in just 19 minutes of play.

Angelika Ruggiano led York (1-3) with 14 points, including three from beyond the arc, to go along with four rebounds. Shauncia McClendon added 12 points and five boards in a losing effort.

The first half saw a back-and-forth affair, with six lead changes and eight ties. York took a 39-36 lead into halftime, as Marino sat extended time after being plagued with foul trouble. Retas already secured a double-double in just the first half, netting 12 points and corralled 11 rebounds.

The turning point occurred with 16 minutes remaining in the second half with York up 47-42. The Lady Bears roared back and responded with a 16-2 run over the next seven minutes of play and would not relinquish the lead again. Marino and McGowan each tallied six points in this run, most of them on fast-break run outs.

St. Joseph's shot an even 50 percent from the field (31-62), including at a 60.7 percent clip in the second half. They also stifled the Cardinals on defense, forcing them to shoot 28.9 percent (22-76) throughout the game, including holding their two top scorers (Samantha Bond and Ruggiano) to just 7 for 33 shooting combined.

The Lady Bears will look to improve to 3-0 when they face Southern Virginia on Saturday, November 29th as part of a doubleheader with the men's team at Pratt Institute. Tip off is at 4:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.