Women’s Basketball Cruises to First Win of 2017-18 Topping York

MAHWAH, N.J. — In the second round of the Roadrunner Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Ramapo College, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball team picked up their first victory of 2017-18 94-52 over York College (N.Y.) on Saturday. Rookie Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) logged her first career double-double and junior captain Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) scored a game-high 22 points to lead the squad.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 94, York 52
• Records: St. Joseph's (1-2), York (0-3)
• Location: Mahwah, N.J. — Bradley Center
• SJC Starters: O'Neill (G), Porcasi (G), O'Donnell (G), Wilber (F), Staab (C)

Turning Point

• The game was well contested until the Bears scored nine unanswered points in the final 1:45 of the first quarter to gain control.

How It Happened

• Porcasi scored seven points in less than a minute to conclude the first putting the Bears up 17-6 after the opening ten minutes.
• 14 bench points for SJC in the second quarter, led by Catherine Drago's (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) six and two blocks, gave them a 36-17 halftime lead.
• The third saw Porcasi total nine of her 22 on 50% shooting and the bench paced the team once again in the fourth, as the Bears bounced back for a convincing 42-point triumph.

For the Bears

• The captain grabbed six rebounds to compliment her third-straight 20+ point performance (7-18 FG).
• O'Donnell shot a very-efficient 7-12 from the floor en route to her career-high 17 points (12 reb).
• Drago led the second unit with 14 (7-11 FG), as well as freshman Deserae Sequeira's (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) nine points (four assists, four steals) and Gina Hopkins' (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) eight.

Inside the Box Score

• Starting point-guard Kellie O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) contributed in many areas, leading the team in dimes (eight), on top of eight rebounds and a career-high five steals.
• A major difference in the victory was the Bears' season-high 74.3% mark from the foul line.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's improves to 9-2 all-time versus York now having won the last five matchups.
• This is the Bears largest margin of victory since a 2014-15 49-point rout of Pratt (Nov. 19).

Next Up for the Bears

• The first Hill Center double-header of 2017-18 with a non-conference battle against John Jay College on Tuesday (Nov. 21). Tip is set for 5 p.m. with live stats and video available at SJCBears.com.