Blue Jays Hold Off St. Mary's (Md.), Win Jamie L. Roberts Memorial Tournament

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team held off a late rally, defeating hosts Saint Mary's College of Maryland (SMC), 63-50, Saturday afternoon to win the Jamie L. Roberts Memorial Tournament inside the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena in St. Mary's City, Md. With the victory, USJ moves to 2-0 on the young year, while SMC drops to 2-1 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The host Seahawks started the game strong, jumping out to a 12-6 lead after the opening five minutes.
• USJ would cut the gap to four after a mid-range jumper from junior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), but a SMC triple extended the deficit to seven, 15-8, as the Blue Jays called a time out with 2:40 left in the first quarter.
• Slisz gave the Blue Jays momentum out of the break in play, scoring four answered points to pull USJ back within three, 15-12, but SMC ended the quarter on a 4-0 stretch, holding a 19-12 edge entering the second quarter.
• The Blue Jays began to cut into the Seahawks, lead as Slisz, senior guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) and senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) combined for six points to pull USJ within three, 21-18, with 6:40 on the clock.
• USJ continued to fight back, tying the game at 23-23 after Ouellette grabbed an offensive rebound before sinking the putback layup with 1:51 left in the first half.
• The Blue Jays completed the comeback, taking their first lead of the game, 25-23, after Ouellette knocked down a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark.
• Senior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) increased the USJ edge to four, 27-23, moments later as the Blue Jays entered the halftime break with the lead after putting on the clamps in the second quarter, holding SMC to only four points.
• The Seahawks stuck first, cutting the gap to two, 27-25, but USJ responded with an 8-2 run, highlighted by six points from senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) to establish an eight-point edge, 35-27, with 6:32 on the clock.
•  The Blue Jays went on to increase the gap to double digits, 39-29, after Fudge knocked down a pull-up jumper at the 5:10 mark.
• USJ continued to roll offensively, as the Blue Jays increased the advantage to 43-29, forcing SMC to call a timeout with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
• The Blue Jays continued to show their dominance on both ends of the floor, increasing the gap to 20, 49-29 after a free throw from freshman guard Natalia Zappone (Morris, Conn.). The Seahawks would knock down a late three-pointer to cut the Blue Jay's lead to 17, 49-32, entering the fourth quarter.
• SMC carried the late momentum into the fourth, cutting the gap to 51-38 and forcing USJ to call a timeout with 6:43 left to play.
• The Seahawks continued to fight back, closing the lead to 10, 53-43, as USJ called a timeout with 5:18 on the clock.
• SMC would get as close as seven, 55-48, but an 8-0 USJ run extended the gap back to 15, 63-48 with 55 seconds left to play.
• The deficit proved too much for the Seahawks, as USJ held on to win the Jamie L. Roberts memorial tournament after a 63-50 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellette and Slisz led the Blue Jays in scoring, tallying 18 points each.
• Fudge joined them in double figures, dropping 12 points.
• Verboven paced the team in rebounding, hauling in a game-high 13 boards.
• Ouellette also recorded her first, and the team's first double-double of the season, hauling in 12 rebounds.
• Fudge was the primary playmaker, dishing out a game-high 6 assists.
• SCM held the Blue Jays to no made three-pointers.
• USJ outrebounded the Seahawks, 54-34.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays make their 2023-24 debut inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium, welcoming Lehman College on Friday, November 17 for the opening game of the 25^th Annual USJ Tip-Off Tournament, presented by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast. Tipoff against the Lightning in West Hartford is set for 6:00 p.m.

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