Women's Basketball Bests Sage, 74-55, on the Road Friday Afternoon

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team secured back-to-back wins, taking down Russell Sage College (Sage), 74-55, Friday afternoon on Robison Court at the Kahl Campus Center in Albany, N.Y. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 6-5 on the season while the Gators drop to 1-5 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ got off to a strong start, taking an 8-2 lead after a jumper from senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) with 7:08 on the clock.
• Sage would close the gap to four, 10-6, but after Slisz turned a steal into a n easy transition layup, the Blue Jays extended the gap to eight, 14-6, forcing the Gators to call a timeout with 3:45 left in the first.
• USJ continued to roll, closing the half on a 7-4 stretch, fueled by a triple from senior guard Jelly Frigo (West Hartford, Conn.) to hold a 23-10 lead after the first quarter.
• Sage would begin to close the gap, opening the second on an 8-4 run, cutting the gap to 27-20 with 7:40 on the clock.
• The Gators would stay within six, until a 7-2 USJ run, capped off by a layup from graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) saw the Blue Jays retake a double-digit edge, 38-27, with 2:21 left in the first half.
• Graduate student guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) would round out a late 6-0 USJ run with a pair of free throws before a Sage triple with 31 seconds left saw the hosts cut the Blue Jays lead to 44-31 entering the halftime break.
• USJ would increase the gap to 17, 50-33, after freshman guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) capped off a 6-0 USJ run with a second-chance layup at the 7:09 mark in the third.
• The two teams would trade buckets throughout the remainder of the quarter, as the Blue Jays held a 60-43 edge entering the fourth quarter.
• USJ would extend the gap to 20, 7:38, after a 5-0 run that featured a pair of free throws from senior forward Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) and a layup from Slisz.
• The Gators would not be able to mount a comeback, as USJ secured the victory, 74-55.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Verboven and Ouellette paced the team with a game-high 19 points each.
• Yorke hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.
• Slisz dished out a game-best seven assists.
• Freshman guard Daichelle San Nicolas (San Antonio, Texas) scored her first career points.
• USJ dominated on the glass, outrebounding sage 46-37.
• The Blue Jays were lethal from inside the paint, scoring 42 of their points from inside.
• Turnovers proved vital for USJ, scoring 19 points off 21 Sage turnovers.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Tuesday, January 7 against New England College. Tipoff against the Pilgrims inside Bridges Gym in Henniker, N.H., is set for 5:00 p.m.

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