Women's Basketball Takes Down John Jay, 79-66, to Open 2024-25 Season

NEW YORK – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team utilized a spread out offensive attack to defeat John Jay College (John Jay), 79-66, during the team's season opener Tuesday night inside The Doghouse in New York, N.Y.  With the result, the Blue Jays begin the year at 1-0, while the Bloodhounds drop to 2-2 on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue Jays would jump out to an early lead in the first quarter, taking a 10-5 edge after being paced by graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.), who netted four points in the stretch.
• John Jay would bounce back after a rough start to the game, connecting on back-to-back buckets to close the gap to three, 12-9, with 2:42 left in the first.
• The Bloodhounds would stay within single digits, as senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) knocked down a free-throw with less than a second remaining in the quarter, increasing the USJ lead to 15-11 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
• USJ would begin to heat up from three, as Slisz and freshman guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) connected from deep, but the Bloodhounds would match the visitors bucket for bucket, keeping within three, 25-22, at the 6:21 mark in the second.
• The Blue Jays increased the gap to six as freshman guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) recorded a steal and picked out a wide open Slisz for an easy layup, establishing a 28-22 edge and forcing the Bloodhounds to call a timeout with 5:26 left in the half.
• USJ would begin to pull away, outscoring John Jay 13-9, paced by four points each from Slisz and Ouellette, to close out the half, holding a 39-31 edge at the break.
• The Bloodhounds started the second half strong, utilizing a 9-4 stretch to cut the gap to three, 43-40, and force a USJ timeout at the 7:08 mark.
• USJ would gain momentum out of the break, as a 10-4 run, fueled by two three-pointers from Turcotte Briggs, saw the Blue Jays break open a nine-point advantage, 53-44, with 3:02 left in the third.
• The Blue Jays would increase the lead to double figures entering the fourth quarter, 57-46.
• USJ would extend the lead to 15, 65-50, after a Slisz triple, but a 5-0 John Jay stretch saw the hosts close the deficit to 10, 65-55, forcing USJ to call a timeout at the 5:42 mark.
• The hosts continued to battle back, cutting the edge to three, 69-66, with 3:04 left to play.
• The Blue Jays would respond with a 7-0 stretch, capped off by three consecutive free throws from Slisz, reopening a double-digit gap, 76-66, and causing John Jay to call for time with 52 seconds on the clock.
• USJ would continue to hold off the Bloodhounds, taking home the victory, 79-66.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Slisz paced the team with 23 points, shooting 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.
• Ouellette also tallied 20 points to go alongside six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Slisz also dished out a team-high eight assists and swiped six steals.
• Graduate student guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) and Turcotte Briggs netted double figures, dropping 14 and 12 points, respectively.
• Graduate student forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) tallied two blocks.
• USJ outshot John Jay from the field, 43.1 percent to 37.5 percent, and from beyond the arc, 41.7 percent to 26.7 percent.
• The Blue Jays won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Bloodhounds, 43-35.
• USJ forced 19 turnovers, scoring 24 points off John Jay miscues.
• With the result, the Blue Jays remain unbeaten against John Jay, moving to 4-0 all-time.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays continue a three-game road trip to start the season, heading to Springfield, Mass., on Saturday, November 23 for the opening day of the Hampden Inn WNE Tip Off Tournament, hosted by Western New England University. USJ will face the host Golden Bears on Saturday, with tipoff inside the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center set for 4:00 p.m.

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