Women's Hoops Sets Program Record for Wins in a Season, Takes Down Elms, 72-49

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team picked up their 20th win, setting a new program record for wins in a single season, after defeating Elms College (Elms), 72-49, Saturday afternoon during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside Picknelly Arena in Chicopee, Mass. The victory also extended the Blue Jays winning streak to 10 games. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 20-3 overall on the year and 11-1 in GNAC play, while the Blazers drop to 9-14 overall and 3-9 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ wasted little time to start the game, opening on an 8-0 stretch, featuring buckets from senior guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.), junior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) and senior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.), to take an 8-0 edge at the 7:39 mark.
• Elms put a stop to the run, responding with a 4-0 run, but Slisz increased the advantage back to eight, 12-4, with a fastbreak layup from Slisz with 4:48 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays continued to dominate the opening quarter, increasing the gap to 10, 18-8, as freshman guard Natalia Zappone (Morris, Conn.) knocked down a free-throw to send USJ into the second with the lead.
• USJ opened the second quarter like how they started the game, utilizing a 7-2 run, capped off by a layup from Slisz, to increase the edge to 15, 25010, with 7:46 left in the half.
• The Blazers tried to spark momentum with a triple, but senior guard Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) answered back with a three of her own, followed by a layup from Heslin, to open up a 17-point advantage, 30-13, with 4:36 on the clock.
• USJ continued to roll, closing the half on a 9-2 run to take a 39-17 edge into the halftime break.
• Both the Blue Jays and Blazers would fire off buckets in the opening portion of the third quarter, as a 6-3 run, capped off by a Zappone jumper and a Slisz layup, saw USJ maintain a 22-point lead, 52-30, as the game reached a media timeout with 4:51 on the clock.
• USJ and Elms continued to trade baskets, but Verboven would sink back-to-back buckets to close the third, increasing the USJ edge to 64-41 heading into the fourth.
• The offense began to slow down in the fourth, as USJ outscored Elms, 4-2, to hold a 68-43 lead as the game reached a media timeout at the 4:04 mark.
• The Blue Jays continued to hold off the Blazers, securing the victory, 72-49.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Slisz and Ouellette paced the team with 16 points each.
• Fudge and Verboven joined them in double figures, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively.
• Ouellette paced the team on the glass, hauling in 11 rebounds to record her third straight double-double, and ninth on the year.
• Verboven also notched a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to record her fifth double-double of the season.
• She also dished out a team-high six assists.
• Slisz was a menace in the backcourt, swiping a game-high four steals.
• USJ outshot Elms, 44.9 percent (31-of-69) to 27.0 percent (20-of-74).
• The Blue Jays won the battle of the glass, outrebounding the Blazers, 52-35.
• USJ dominated inside, scoring 50 of their 72 points from inside the paint.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to West Hartford to begin the final week of the regular season, hosting Lasell University on Tuesday, February 13. Tipoff against the Lasers inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 5:00 p.m.

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