Blue Jays Fall to #12 DeSales During Moravian Steel Club Classic

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team fought hard, but fell to No. 12 DeSales, 70-53, this afternoon during the opening day of the 19th Moravian Steel Club Classic inside Johnston Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. Sophomore guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) finished with a team-high 16 points on the day.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: USJ 53, No. 12 DeSales 70
Records: USJ (6-3), No. 12 DeSales (11-0)
Location: Johnston Hall (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Notes: 19th Moravian Steel Club Classic

HOW IT HAPPENED

DeSales jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the opening quarter, keeping the Blue Jays scoreless for the opening 3:27 minutes of the game. Slisz snapped the Bulldogs momentum, knocking down an easy layup after a great pass from junior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) at the 6:33 mark. Ouellette kept USJ within four points with a midrange jumper at the 5:01 mark, 8-4, but an 8-0 DeSales stretch saw the Bulldogs hold a 16-4 edge entering the closing moments. 

USJ continued to fight back though, gaining momentum after a knockdown triple from Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.). Verboven would continue her stellar play on the opposite end, recording a block, allowing Khalise Harris to make a transition layup, cutting the gap to seven, 16-11. Ouellette rounded out the Blue Jays 7-0 run, pulling USJ within five, 16-11, after draining a midrange baseline jumper with 41 seconds left in the quarter. DeSales though cut the Blue Jays momentum with a late basket, taking an 18-11 edge into the second quarter.

The Bulldogs opened the second quarter by knocking down a pair of free throws to extend the gap to nine. However, sophomore forward Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) responded at the 7:48 mark, corralling an offensive rebound before making the easy layup, cutting the gap to seven, 20-13. DeSales answered back with a layup after an offensive rebound, forcing USJ into taking a timeout with 6:21 remaining, trailing 22-13.  DeSales looked to go ahead by double digits, taking a nine-point edge, 24-15, but junior guard Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) sunk a timely triple, swinging the momentum back in USJ's favor at the 4:46 mark. Slisz followed up the triple with a tough driving layup, cutting the gap to six, 26-20, with 3:25 remaining in the half. Slisz would pull the Blue Jays within five, 26-21, after making a free throw, but DeSales fired back with a 6-2 stretch to close the first half, entering the break with a 32-23 lead.

The Bulldogs opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run, forcing the Blue Jays to call an early timeout, trailing 36-23 at the 8:57 mark. Coming out of the timeout, Slisz once again came up clutch for the Blue Jays, knocking down a layup to cut the gap to 11, 36-25. Senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) got USJ back within 10, executing a perfect backdoor cut, receiving the ball from Slisz and making a tough reverse layup to bring the score to 37-27 at the 7:00 mark. However, a 6-0 stretch saw DeSales reestablish a 16-point lead, 43-27. Ouellette snapped the Bulldogs momentum, making a sweet turnaround jumpshot at the 4:49 mark, but a 7-0 DeSales run saw USJ take another timeout, trailing 50-29 with 2:59 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs would go on to take a 56-34 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Verboven would score the opening bucket of the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 DeSales stretch extended the deficit to 62-36. The Bulldogs continued to put their foot on the gas, increasing the gap to 30, 68-38 at the 6:31 mark. USJ continued to fight back though, using a 9-0 stretch, featuring five points from Slisz, brought the score to 68-47 with 1:51 left in the game. Freshman guard Adalyse Gonzalez(Willimantic, Conn.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers late in the game, but the deficit proved too much as DeSales took home a 70-53 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Slisz finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

• Ouellette joined her in double figures, dropping 10 points.

• Junior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) paced the team in rebounding, hauling in five boards.

• Verboven dished out a team-high three assists.

• USJ outshot DeSales, 37.0 percent (20-of-54) to 35.0 percent (21-of-60)

• The Blue Jays held the Bulldogs to a 2-of-14 mark (14.3%) from beyond the arc.

• DeSales outrebounded USJ, 46-34.

• The Bulldogs forced 23 Blue Jays' turnovers, scoring 20 points off the miscues.

• DeSales took the inaugural meeting against USJ.

• The Blue Jays move to 12-10 all-time against schools from Pennsylvania and 0-2 against MAC Freedom Conference foes.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays wrap up the Steel Club Classic against hosts Moravian tomorrow afternoon. Tipoff for the New Year's Eve matchup against the Greyhounds is set for 1:00 p.m.

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