Women's Hoops Soars Past Lasell, 84-45, Thursday Night

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team made it two in a row, defeating Lasell University (Lasell) in dominating fashion, 84-45, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Thursday night inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. All 14 Blue Jays recorded points on the night.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: USJ 84, Lasell 45
Records: USJ (8-4, 4-1 GNAC), Lasell (3-8, 2-2 GNAC)
Location: James A. Calhoun Gymnasium (West Hartford, Conn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Jays started the game on fire as an early 6-0 run, featuring layups from Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), Jordan Farrell (West Hartford, Conn.) and Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) gave the hosts the lead with 6:39 left in the first quarter. USJ played excellent defense, not allowing a Lasell bucket until the 6:26 mark, as the Lasers cut the gap to 6-2. The visitors continued to fight back, expanding its run to 7-0, taking a 7-6 edge and forcing the Blue Jays to call a timeout with 3:54 left in the quarter.

USJ came out of the timeout strong, as Ouellette immediately scored with an easy jumper, giving the lead back to the Blue Jays, 8-7. The Lasers fired back to regain the lead, but a 4-0 USJ stretch, capped off by a layup from Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) saw the Blue Jays take a three-point edge, 12-9, with 1:33 left in the first quarter. USJ would keep a hold of the three-point lead, entering the first intermission leading 14-11.

Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) wasted little time getting the USJ offense going in the second, knocking down a triple from the left wing to increase the gap to 17-11. Taylor Verboven followed up the shot with a trey of her own, capping off a 6-0 run that saw the Blue Jays hold a 20-11 lead at the 8:52 mark. Lasell would cut the gap to six after a three-pointer of its own, but the Blue Jays quickly regained a nine-point edge after an Emiah Soto (Wolcott, Conn.) layup gave the hosts a 24-15 edge with 7:01 remaining. Both offenses then went cold, as the second quarter media timeout hit at 3:57 with USJ leading 26-20.

Lasell would get as close as four, 26-22, but a 4-0 Blue Jays stretch featuring buckets from Verboven and Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) reestablished an eight-point lead, 30-22, with two minutes left in the first half.  Frigo continued her strong shooting performance, knocking down her second triple of the game, extending the lead to 33-22. The Blue Jays continued to pile on the pressure closing the first half on an 11-0 run, entering the halftime break leading 37-22.

Ouellette got the Blue Jays rolling in the second half, pacing a 3-0 stretch to increase the lead to 18, 40-22 at the 9:32 mark.  The two teams then traded baskets back and forth until Slisz knocked down a pair of free throws to give USJ a 20-point lead, 48-28, at the 6:14 mark. The Blue Jays continued to roll, as a 4-0 stretch, featuring buckets from Farrell and Fudge, forced a Lasell timeout with 5:04 left in the third quarter with the Lasers trailing 52-29. Lasell went on a 6-2 run coming out of the timeout, but a 6-0 stretch, featuring four points from Frigo, extended the Blue Jays lead to 25, 60-35, with 2:32 remaining in the quarter. The third quarter continued to be all USJ, as the hosts ended the half on a 6-0 stretch, taking a 66-37 lead heading into the final quarter.

USJ continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, opening the final stanza on a 5-0 run to increase the gap to 71-37 with 8:32 on the clock. Lasell fired back with a 4-0 stretch of its own to cut the deficit to 30, 71-41, at the 6:40 mark. However, Julia Olson (North Sctiuate, R.I.) and Adalyse Gonzalez (Willimantic, Conn.) each knocked down free throws as USJ used a 5-0 stretch to extend the lead to 76-41 with 5:04 remaining. The Blue Jays kept rolling, not allowing Lasell any chance of getting back into the game, securing a 84-45 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Slisz and Frigo paced the team with 12 points each.
• Frigo matched her season-high in scoring.
• Ouellette joined the duo in double-figures with 11 points.
• She has scored double-figures in every game this season.
• Every Blue Jay recorded points on the night.
• Frigo and Ouellette also paced USJ in rebounding, hauling in 7 boards each.
• Frigo and Farrell were the primary playmakers, leading the Blue Jays with 5 assists each.
• USJ outshot Lasell 48.4 percent (31of 64) to 26.5 percent shooting (18 of 68)
• The Blue Jays dominated inside, scoring 50 points inside the paint.
• USJ forced 25 turnovers, scoring 24 points off Lasell miscues.
• The Blue Jays increased its winning streak to four games over the Lasers.
• USJ increased its lead in the all-time series to 15-6.

UP NEXT

Women's basketball heads on the road for a quick two-game road trip, starting with a stop at Regis (Mass.) on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a GNAC matchup. Tipoff from Higgins Court in Weston, Mass., is set for 1:00 p.m.

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