Stifling Defense Lifts Women's Basketball Past WPI on the Road Tuesday Night

WORCESTER, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team utilized stifling defense to defeat WPI on the road, 61-48, Tuesday night inside Harrington Auditorium in Worcester, Mass.  Senior guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) paced the team offensively, dropping a season-high 23 points. With the result, the Blue Jays improve to 5-0 on the year, while the Engineers fall to 4-2 on the season. The 5-0 start is the best record to begin a season in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Engineers and Blue Jays battled back-and-forth to start the game, as USJ gained a slim 6-4 lead after a floating jumper inside the key from junior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) at the 6:50 mark.
• Senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn) maintained the Blue Jays lead after a pair of free throws, 10-8, but a quick WPI triple saw the hosts take their first lead of the night, 11-10, with 4:59 left in the first.
• The game remained close, as Verboven regained the lead for USJ, 14-13, after recording a steal and finishing at the other end, but WPI would score late, holding a narrow 15-14 edge entering the second quarter.
• The second quarter began as a battle of the defenses, until WPI increased its lead to three, 17-14, before Verboven knocked down a tough turnaround jumper, cutting the gap back to one, 17-16, with 7:00 on the clock.
• Senior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) tied the game at the free-throw line for USJ, 18-18, but a 5-0 Engineers run saw the hosts hold a 23-18 edge at the 4:43 mark.
• Verboven continued her red hot first half, using a 4-0 solo run, capped off by a tip-in rebound, to reestablish a USJ lead, 24-23, with 48 seconds left in the half.
• However, WPI would go coast-to-cost, recording a steal before finishing a buzzer beating layup to take a slim 25-24 lead into the second half.
• USJ quickly regained the lead to start the third quarter, as Slisz converted an old-fashioned three-point play, taking a 27-25 edge and forcing WPI to call a timeout at the 8:41 mark.
• The Engineers swung the lead back in their favor, but senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) got her defender to bite on a pump fake before knocking down a pull-up midrange jumper, reestablishing a USJ lead, 31-29, at the 5:25 mark.
• The Blue Jays continued its momentum, as Ouellette sunk a pull-up jumper, increasing the gap to three, 35-32, but WPI would close the gap back to one, 35-34, as USJ called a timeout with 2:53 left to play in the third.
• Verboven would quickly respond, diving to the hoop for an easy layup, sending USJ into the fourth quarter with a 37-34 advantage.
• WPI started the fourth by getting back within one, but a mid-range jumper from Ouellette followed by a crucial three-pointer from Fudge saw the Blue Jays take their biggest lead of the game, 44-38, with 7:29 left to play.
• USJ continued to roll on both sides of the court, holding off the Engineers while Heslin drained a close-range jumper to increase the gap to nine, 48-39, and force a WPI timeout at the 5:04 mark.
• Fudge later extended the advantage to 10 after a long-range triple off the glass, 51-41, as the Blue Jays continued to play stifling defense, calling a timeout at the 1:21 mark.
• The Engineers would not be able to fight their way back into the game, as USJ iced the game out at the free throw line, taking home a 61-48 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Verboven paced the team with a game and season-high 23 points.
• She narrowly missed out on a double-double, leading the Blue Jays with eight rebounds.
• Ouellette and Fudge joined Verboven in double-digit scoring, dropping 12 points each.
• Fudge was the main playmaker, dishing out a team-high two assists.
• USJ outshot WPI, 43.5 percent to 30.3 percent.
• The Blue Jays also had the advantage from beyond the arc, shooting 40.0 percent compared to the Engineers 21.1 percent clip.
• WPI won the battle on the glass, outrebounding USJ narrowly, 38-37.
• USJ was clutch at the charity stripe, going 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) from the line.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to Connecticut following the Thanksgiving break, heading west to intrastate foe Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday, November 28. Tipoff against the Wolves inside Stephen Feldman Arena in Danbury, Conn., is set for 7:00 p.m. 

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