Women's Basketball Set to Face Johns Hopkins in NCAA Tournament First Round

BALTIMORE — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team, which captured its second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship in program history this past Saturday, is set to square off with nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Friday night at 7:15 p.m. in the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament First Round inside Goldfarb Gymnasium on the campus of JHU in Baltimore, Md. The Blue Jays and 63 other teams saw their name called Monday afternoon during the NCAA Selection Show, and the time is now for the best D-III women's basketball teams in the country to go head-to-head with first-round matchups commencing throughout the evening on Friday, March 7. Here is everything fans need to know about both teams ahead of USJ's NCAA Tournament First Round game, as the Blue Jays look to become the first GNAC team to win a NCAA Tournament game since Saint Joseph's College of Maine in 2019.

Gates to Goldfarb Gymnasium will open one hour prior to opening tipoff of the first game, which is schedule for 4:45 p.m. between Carnegie Mellon and Bridgewater State. All fans must enter & exit through the main entrance of the Newton White Athletic Center. Tickets are available at the door and are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, $10 for students with a valid ID, and free for children two and under.
 
USJ BLUE JAYS (19-9, 11-3 GNAC) at #14/#17 JOHNS HOPKINS BLUE JAYS (22-4, 13-1 CC)
LOCATION: Goldfarb Gymnasium (Baltimore, Md.)
DATE/TIME: Friday, March 7 (7:15 p.m.)  
WATCH: Live Stream 
LIVE STATS: Live Stats 
TWITTER: @USJ_BlueJays | #FearTheFlock | #GoBlueJays | #D3hoops
 
USJ QUICK HITS 

• USJ earned its spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after defeating Saint Joseph's College of Maine in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game this past Saturday.
• The Blue Jays are led by the trio of graduate students Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) and Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.), and senior Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.).
• Ouellette, who was recently named to the 2024-25 All-GNAC Second Team, is having a career year, averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game on 58.6% shooting from the floor. The graduate student also hauls in a team-best 7.1 rebounds per contest. Her scoring totals rank her fifth in the nation in total field goals made (241), eighth in field-goal percentage and 30th in points per game.
• Ouellette is currently the all-time leading rebounder in USJ history, and is just 11 points away from tying Stacy Manfredi for the all-time career scoring record of 1,806 points.
• Slisz has also enjoyed a career season in her senior campaign, averaging career-highs in points per game (15.6), rebounds per game (4.2) and assists per game (4.9). The senior from New Britain currently ranks ninth in the country in total assists (137), while her assist per game tally is good for 20th in the nation.
• Slisz has already surpassed the all-time single season record for assists and is currently one assist away from tying Val Briggs' all-time career assists record of 345 assists.
• Verboven continues to be a jack-of-all trades player for USJ, averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game, while posting 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
• The Blue Jays are one of the most efficient scoring teams in the country, ranking seventh in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting it at a 45.9% mark as a team.

SCOUTING JHU

• The Blue Jays earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 22-4 record overall, including a 13-1 mark in the Centennial Conference (CC).
• JHU earned the number one overall seed in the CC Tournament, but fell in the championship game in overtime to Gettysburg.
• The Blue Jays are making their 15th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including their fourth consecutive trip to the Big Dance. Last season, JHU advanced to the Sweet 16, where they eventually fell to Scranton.
• JHU is led by All-Centennial Conference First Team member, senior forward Michaela O'Neil. O'Neil leads the team in scoring (13.2), ranks third in rebounding (5.4), and has a team-high 46 blocks. The senior has started in all 26 games and is shooting exactly 50% from the floor (145-of-290) on the season.
• Junior guard Macie Feldman, an All-Centennial Conference Second Team member, leads the backcourt, ranking second on the team in scoring (9.3) and leads the team in rebounding (8.2), while also adding a team-high 92 assists and 56 steals.
• The Blue Jays boast one of the best defenses in the entire nation, ranking 16th nationally in both scoring defense (49.7 points allowed per game) and field goal percentage defense (32.1 percent).
• JHU outscores opponents by an average of 19.8 points per game, good for 16th-best in the country, while hauling in 45.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 25th-best in the nation.

INSIDE THE SERIES 

• Friday marks the first time that the Blue Jays will battle their counterparts on the hardwood.
• USJ boasts a 10-11 record all-time against schools from the Centennial Conference. The last time the Blue Jays faced an opponent from the CC was during the 2007-08 season, as USJ fell to Washington College (Md.), 64-58.
• JHU will be facing an opponent from the GNAC for the first time in program history on Friday night. The Blue Jays are 2-0 all-time against schools from the Nutmeg State, as they defeated both Eastern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University once in their program's history.

UP NEXT 

With a victory, the Blue Jays would advance to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Second Round for the first time in program history. USJ would play the winner of the Carnegie Mellon and Bridgewater State matchup on Saturday, March 8 with tipoff inside Goldfarb Gymnasium set for 7:15 p.m.

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