Women's Hoops Falls on the Road to Albertus Magnus, 90-73, Saturday Afternoon

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) road game at rival Albertus Magnus College (Albertus), 90-73, Saturday afternoon inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center in New Haven, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays moved to 13-8 on the season and 8-2 in conference play, while the Falcons moved to 14-8 overall and 9-2 in the GNAC.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a back-and-forth opening five minutes, which saw numerous foul calls against both teams, the Blue Jays held a 9-6 lead after senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britian, Conn.) drained a triple from the wing with 5:49 to go in the opening frame.
• USJ began to break open the advantage, utilizing a 6-0 stretch, featuring four points by graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.), to take a 15-8 edge with 4:15 left in the first.
• Albertus put a stop to the run with a triple, but the Blue Jays closed the quarter on a 7-2 run, fueled by five points from Slisz, to hold a 22-13 lead after the first quarter.
• USJ extended its advantage to double-digits to start the second, as senior guard Jelly Frigo (West Hartford, Conn.) knocked down a three-pointer at the 9:18 mark, giving USJ a 27-13 lead.
• The Falcons began to fight back though, utilizing an 8-2 stretch to cut the gap to seven, 34-27, with 4:58 to play before halftime.
• Albertus closed the deficit even further, pulling back within three, 36-33, and forced USJ to call a timeout with 3:37 left in the half.
• The hosts would gain the lead entering the halftime break, closing the half on a 6-0 stretch to hold a 42-39 edge.
• USJ tied the score at 44-all with a Slisz free-throw to start the second half, but the Falcons would reopen a nine-point lead, 55-46, with 5:35 left on the third-period clock.
• The Blue Jays began to fight back, closing the gap to four, 57-53, after Slisz knocked down a jumper at the 3:02 mark.
• USJ continued to battle, as freshman Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) sunk a clutch three-pointer with six seconds left in the third, tying the game at 60-60 heading into the fourth and final quarter.
• The two sides traded buckets to open the fourth, as graduate student guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) scored four-straight points, keeping the score level at 67-67 with 6:15 left to play.
• However, the Falcons began to pull away, using a 13-0 stretch to hold a 82-69 lead with 1:44 left on the clock.
• USJ would not be able to overcome the late deficit as Albertus secured the win, 90-73.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Verboven paced the team with 18 points.
• Slisz and Ouellette joined her in double-figures, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively.
• Ouellette notched a double-double, hauling in a team-high 14 rebounds.
• The Falcons outshot the Blue Jays from the field, 43.5% to 34.3%, and from beyond the arc, 50.0% to 42.9%.
• USJ won the battle of the glass, outrebounding Albertus, 46-41.
• The Falcons dominated inside the paint, scoring 36 points from close range.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return home for their final two regular season home games of the 2024-25 campaign, starting with a matchup against Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday, February 12. Tipoff against the Wildcats inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn., is set for 5:00 p.m.

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