WATERVILLE, ME – After shooting 58 percent and racking up a season-best 48 points in the opening half, the Lady Bears offense struggled in the second half scrapping together 22 points as the St. Joseph's College women's basketball team had their three-game win streak snapped in a 79-70 loss to Thomas College in non-conference play on Saturday night.
The opening half featured plenty of offense with both teams combining for 93 points in a back-and-forth first half that saw nine ties and 12 lead changes. All of St. Joseph's offensive production came from the field as the Lady Bears shot 21-for-36 including 6-for-13 from behind the arc. The Terriers kept pace on 12-for-34 shooting and were bolstered by 14-for-19 shooting from the charity stripe. The Lady Bears carried a 48-45 lead into the lockers led by 15 points from junior Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep).
In a tale of two halves, Thomas opened the second stanza on an 11-0 run and the Lady Bears could never regain the lead. St. Joseph's managed to shoot only 25 percent for the period while Thomas kept their offensive output steady. The Terriers led by as many as 11 and the Lady Bears could cut the deficit to only four.
In addition to their poor second half shooting, turnovers also plagued the Lady Bears as they committed 29 miscues, their second highest total this season, which Thomas converted into 31 points.
McQuillan finished with 22 points while swiping a team-high three steals. Sophomore forward Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) had another strong game recording her second career double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high 10 boards. Senior Tara Gleason (Woodside, NY/Stella Maris) added nine points and rookie Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) contributed eight points and nine rebounds.
Thomas (2-3) had four Terriers finish in double figures led by Malorie Blankey who scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 12-for-16 from the free throw line with six steals. Karin Bird had 17 points and Kellie Martel added 15 points and seven rebounds.
St. Joseph's (3-3) continues their Maine road trip with a USCAA battle against #23 ranked Southern Maine CC tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.