Women's Hoops Handles Sage, 73-32, to Close Out 25th Annual USJ Tip-Off Tournament

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team used stellar defense to defeat the visiting Gators of Russell Sage College (Sage) 73-32, in the final game of the 25th Annual USJ Tip-Off Tournament, presented by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, USJ moves to 4-0 on the year, while Sage drops to 1-2 on the season. The 4-0 start for USJ is the first time since the 1996-97 season that the Blue Jays began the year 4-0. Senior guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) was named the Tournament MVP while senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ completely controlled the opening quarter, starting the game on a 24-0 run, featuring eight points from Ouellette and junior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.).
• Sage would put an end to the run with a bucket at the buzzer, as the Blue Jays held a 24-2 lead after the first quarter.
• The Blue Jays continued to dominate the game, as a triple from senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) and back-to-back buckets from senior forward Maci Dorantes (Bristol, Conn.) increased the USJ lead to 30, 35-5, with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
• Sage would try and mount a comeback, closing the gap to 22, 39-17, but a three-pointer with four seconds left by freshman guard Natalia Zappone (Morris, Conn.) sent USJ into the break leading, 42-17.
• The game continued to be all USJ, as the Blue Jays played stifling defense, keeping the Gators off the board for the opening 4:23 of the third quarter, holding a 53-19 lead.
• Fudge would knock down a jumper to establish USJ's biggest lead of the night, 62-19, before a Zappone mid-range jumper sent the Blue Jays into the fourth quarter leading, 64-23.
• The gap proved too much for Sage to overcome as the Blue Jays continued to control the game, taking home a 73-32 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellette finished with a game-high 16 points.
• Slisz, Fudge and Verboven joined her in double figures, scoring 14, 11 and 11 points respectively.
• Verboven grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, recording her first double-double of the season.
• Slisz and Verboven both dished out a team-high six assists.
• USJ was ferocious defensively, limiting Sage to 22.6 percent shooting from the field, and an 11.8 percent clip from beyond the arc.
• The Blue Jays dominated the glass, outrebounding the Gators 49-33.
• All 16 members of the USJ roster saw the floor.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays head on the road for a non-conference matchup at WPI on Tuesday, November 21. Tipoff against the Engineers in Worcester, Mass., is set for 6:00 p.m. 

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