Women's Basketball Stopped On The Road At Regis Friday, 68-63

WESTON, Mass. - The Regis College (REG) Pride snapped the University of Saint Joseph's (USJ) four-game win streak, defeating the Blue Jays, 68-63, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball contest on Higgins Court Friday evening. With the setback, the Blue Jays dip to 10-7 overall on the 2021-22 season and 6-4 in GNAC play, while the Pride improve to 7-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The loss ends a bid for what would've been the longest win streak for women's hoops in over a decade.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 63, Regis 68
Records: USJ 10-7 (6-4 GNAC), REG 7-7 (6-2 GNAC)
Location: Higgins Court | Weston, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Pride rattled off 12 straight points in the first four minutes of the contest, USJ finally broke through with baskets by freshman guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) and sophomore forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.). The two teams traded points the rest of the first quarter, but Regis maintained a 21-13 advantage heading into the second period. 

Junior point guard and captain Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) canned a long ball to start the second stanza, but it was immediately answered on the other end by a hard-charging Pride team. A three-pointer from junior guard Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) extended the Regis lead back to 12 at 30-18. The Blue Jays closed out the first half with a 10-3 scoring run though, capped by consecutive baskets from Ouellette and Slisz, to cut the deficit to five, 33-28, entering the break.

Sophomore guard Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) hit a layup in the first minute of the third quarter to bring USJ within three, 33-30, and later a jumper by Ouellette further closed the gap to two points, 40-38, four minutes into the second half. The Pride responded though with their own 10-3 scoring run, led by Gonzalez with six points, to increase their advantage back to nine, 50-41, late in the third period. 

Gonzalez hit a three-pointer and a layup to give Regis a 59-48 lead early in the fourth quarter, but USJ made one final charge, putting together a 9-2 scoring run capped by a three-pointer from Fudge to close to within four, 61-57, with 3:46 left in regulation. With plenty of time and a critical GNAC game on the line, Gonzalez stopped the USJ threat with a traditional three-point play as Regis would go on to earn its fourth victory in the last five games and end the Blue Jays bid for a fifth straight victory.

COACH QUOTE [Wendy Davis]
"We battled hard against the number four team in the conference, but ultimately free-throw shooting and rebounding were our demise. We must do better if we want to stay in the top half of the conference come February."

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Fudge finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, while Slisz also scored 17 points (career-high), and Ouellette contributed 16 points and five rebounds. As a team, the Blue Jays shot 37.7% (26-of-69) from the field and 58.% (7-of-12) from the free-throw line. USJ also scored 16 points off of 18 Regis turnovers to keep themselves a float as the contest went on.

For the Pride, Gonzalez shot 11-of-20 from the field, including three three-pointers, as she led all players with 28 points. She also collected nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals in the win. The Pride shot 36.2% (25-of-69) from the field and 66.7% (14-of-21) from the free-throw line. Regis won the rebounding battle, 51-38, including 21 offensive rebounds which led to 19 second-chance points.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will get back to the action on Tuesday, February 1 at 5:00 p.m. in the O'Connell Center in a GNAC doubleheader against the Bulldogs of Dean College, with the men's basketball teams squaring off after the women's game. Please review the University's latest updates to spectator policy. You can also head over to usjbluejays.com to catch the action live!

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