Women's Hoops Sinks Mariners, 74-57, Wednesday Night

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team continued its winning ways, picking up the teams sixth-straight victory on the road at intrastate foe Mitchell College (Mitchell), 74-57, Wednesday night during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside the Yarnall Athletic Center in New London, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 16-3 overall on the year and 7-1 in GNAC play, while the Mariners drop to 2-13 overall and 0-7 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mariners and Blue Jays traded buckets to open the game, as senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) knocked down a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line, tying the game, 6-6, at the 6:07 mark.
• Senior guard Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) would quickly give USJ the lead, knocking down an easy layup after a pass from Fudge, but Mitchell responded with a triple, holding a 9-8 edge with 2:45 left in the first.
• The Blue Jays would find their rhythm late in the quarter, closing on a 6-3 stretch, fueled by four points from freshman guard Natalia Zappone (Morris, Conn.) to take a 15-11 advantage into the second.
• USJ carried the momentum into the second quarter, increasing the lead to nine, 25-16, after a transition layup by senior forward Maci Dorantes (Bristol, Conn.) at the 6:26 mark.
• The Mariners began to fight back, closing the gap to four, 25-21, but four quick points from senior guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) reestablished an eight-point USJ edge, 29-21, with 3:11 left in the half.
• Senior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) increased the gap to 10, 31-21, after an easy layup, but the Mariners would close the half on a 3-0 run, cutting the deficit to seven, 31-24, entering the halftime break.
• USJ started the second half strong, utilizing a 6-2 stretch, featuring four points from senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) to jump out to a 37-26 edge, and force a Mitchell timeout at the 5:48 mark.
• Mitchell closed the gap back to single digits, 37-28, however, the Blue Jays dominated the remainder of the quarter, closing on a 14-5 run, featuring points from Fudge, Verboven, Dorantes, Ouellette and junior forward Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) to take a 51-33 edge into the fourth.
• The two teams would trade buckets to begin the fourth, as a Dorantes layup established a seventeen-point edge, 59-42, forcing a Mitchell timeout at the 5:39 mark.
• The Blue Jays continued to hold the Mariners at bay for the remainder of the quarter, knocking down numerous late threes to take home a 74-57 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellette paced the team with 14 points and nine rebounds.
• Verboven, Dorantes and Fudge joined her in double-figures, dropping 12, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• Oliver grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.
• Frigo, who made her first start this season, dished out a team-high nine assists.
• USJ outshot Mitchell, 48.6 percent (34-of-70) to 35.8 percent (19-of-53).
• The Mariners held a slim edge from beyond the arc, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) to the Blue Jays 36.4 percent (4-of-11).
• USJ won the battle on the glass, out rebounding Mitchell, 44-30.
• USJ dominated inside, scoring 50 of their points from inside the paint.
• Both teams caused 20 turnovers, but the Blue Jays were able to score 16 points off miscues, compared to the Mariners six.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays round out a two-game road trip at Dean College on Tuesday, January 30. Tipoff against the Bulldogs inside Pieri Gymnasium in Franklin, Mass., is set for 5:00 p.m.

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