Women's Hoops Handles Colby-Sawyer, 97-61, Secures Home Postseason Game

NEW LONDON, N.H. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team secured the No. 4 seed and a home quarterfinal game in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament after taking down Colby-Sawyer College (CSC), 97-61, in its 2024-25 regular-season finale Saturday afternoon inside the Dan & Kathleen Hogan Sports Center in New London, N.H. With the result, the Blue Jays finished the regular season 16-9 overall and 11-3 in GNAC play, while the Chargers concluded the year 9-16 overall and 3-11 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ started the game red-hot, as graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) scored six points to guide the Blue Jays to a 12-0 edge at the 7:07 mark.
• CSC would close the gap to 14-6, but a 9-3 USJ run, featuring buckets from graduate students Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) and Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) and senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), saw the visitors extend the gap to 23-9, with 3:47 left in the first.
• The Blue Jays continued to dominate offensively, closing the quarter on a 14-8 stretch, to hold a 37-20 lead after the first quarter.
• USJ continued to cruise, utilizing a 15-2 stretch, featuring six points from Ouellette to start the second, breaking open a 52-25 lead with 5:48 on the clock.
• Verboven and Ouellette would combine for eight points to close out the half, as USJ entered the locker room with a 62-32 lead.
• The two teams traded buckets out of the break, as a Slisz triple increased the advantage to 71-37, with 6:51 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays increased the lead to 41 points, 79-38, as Slisz and Ouellette paced an 8-1 stretch that was capped off by a Slisz jumper at the 3:29 mark.
• The two teams continued to trade buckets to close out the quarter, as USJ held an 83-50 lead after the third.
• USJ controlled the fourth quarter, outscoring the Chargers 14-11 to secure the victory, 97-61.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellette finished with a season-high 31 points.
• Verboven dropped 22 points, while Slisz scored 20 points.
• Verboven hauled in a game-high eight rebounds.
• Slisz dished out a game-best six assists.
• Freshman guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) swiped a game-high four steals.
• USJ outshot CSC, 56.3 percent to 46.2 percent.
• The Blue Jays won the battle of the glass, outrebounding the Chargers, 30-26.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays, who earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament, will host a GNAC Quarterfinal tilt against fifth-seeded Rivier University on Tuesday, February 25. Tipoff betweent he Blue Jays and Raiders inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. is set for 5:00 p.m.

Follow USJ Athletics
For the latest on University of Saint Joseph athletics, follow the Blue Jays on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Fans can also download the USJ Front Row Mobile App and subscribe to our Newsletter and Text Alerts. #FearTheFlock #GoBlueJays