Women's Hoops Wins Third Straight, Leads Wire-To-Wire at CSC, 77-66

NEW LONDON, N.H. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team won their third straight-game, taking down Colby Sawyer College (CSC) on the road, 77-66, Saturday afternoon in New London, N.H. The win was the first road victory against the Chargers for the Blue Jays. With the result, USJ improves to 13-7 overall and 9-4 in GNAC play, while CSC drops to 6-11 overall with a 4-6 mark in conference play.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: USJ 77, CSC 66
Records: USJ (13-7, 9-4 GNAC), CSC (6-11, 4-6 GNAC)
Location: Dan & Kathleen Hogan Sports Center (New London, N.H.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Jays started the game on fire, jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead after dominating on both ends of the court. Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) got the run going, knocking down a pull-up jumper in the opening minute of play, while Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) turned defense into offense, recording a steal before finishing at the other end to force CSC into calling a timeout trailing, 8-0, at the 6:17 mark. The Chargers would put an end to the run coming out of the break in play, but USJ quickly fired back with a 7-0 stretch, featuring buckets from Ouellette, Slisz and Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) to reestablish a big 15-2 lead with 4:38 remaining. 

The Chargers would not go down easy, using an 11-1 run to cut the gap to three, 16-13, forcing a Blue Jays timeout with 57 seconds remaining. Jordan Farrell (West Hartford, Conn.) knocked down a pull-up midrange jumper in the closing seconds to end the Chargers run, as USJ held a 18-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter began as a back-and-forth affair, as CSC cut the deficit to four, 22-18 inside the opening two minutes. Farrell continued her strong performance, knocking down a long baseline jumper to reestablish a six-point edge, 24-18, with 6:36 remaining in the half. Verboven extended the gap to seven a few moments later, but CSC got within two late, 32-30, with 34 seconds left in the half. Ouellette quickly responded with a driving layup, giving the Blue Jas a 34-30 edge entering the halftime break.

Verboven would get the Blue Jays rolling out of the halftime break, sinking an early driving layup to reestablish a 36-30 edge. The Chargers would fight back within two, but a 6-0 stretch, featuring buckets from Ouellette, Verboven and Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) to break open a 42-34 edge, forcing a CSC timeout at the 6:54 mark. USJ continued to keep their foot on the gas, increasing the gap to double digits as Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) knocked down a triple from the top of the arc, breaking open a 48-36 lead with 5:25 left in the third. The Chargers fought their way back to six, 48-42, but the Blue Jays closed the third quarter on a 12-4 stretch, entering the final quarter of play with a 63-48 lead.

USJ carried the momentum in to the fourth, as Fudge immediately picked off a pass before finishing at the other end to increase the gap to 17, 65-48. Farrell followed up the heads up play with a smooth jumper from the elbow, while Fudge recorded an easy layup off a transition play to force CSC into calling from time, trailing 69-51, with 8:10 left in the game.  However, the Chargers would not go down easy, clawing their way back into the game with a 17-6 stretch to get back within single digits, 75-66, with 25 seconds left. However, the Blue Jays would hold on as Slisz iced the game out with a pair of free throws as USJ took home the 77-66 victory

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ouellette led all scorers with 20 points.
• Slisz, Verboven and Fudge joined her in double-figured, dropping 17, 16 and 10 points, respectively.
• Verboven also hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, securing a double-double.
• The double-double is the third of the season.
• Slisz and Verboven were the primary playmakers, dishing out five assists each.
• The Blue Jays outshot the Chargers, 50.0 percent (34 of 68) to 36.4 percent (20 of 55).
• USJ dominated on the glass, outrebounding CSC 45-29.
• The Blue Jays lead wire-to-wire, never surrendering the advantage.
• USJ increased its winning streak to two games against CSC.
• The win was for the first for USJ in New London.
• The Blue Jays cut the gap in the all-time series to 2-3 with the victory.

UP NEXT

Women's basketball returns to the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium for a two-game homestand, starting with a matchup against rivals Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday, January 31^st. Tipoff against the Falcons is set for 5:00 p.m. in West Hartford. Tickets to attend Tuesday's game can be purchased by visiting www.usjbluejays.com/tickets. Fans who cannot make it to the game in person can watch all of the action live by visiting https://portal.stretchinternet.com/usj/.

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