BROOKLYN, NY – In an entertaining, offensive showcase that saw both teams connect on 50 percent of their field goal attempts, and combine for 22 three-pointers, Brooklyn College outlasted the St. Joseph's College women's basketball team, 83-80, on Tuesday evening at the West Quad Center Gym.
The 163 combined points ranks fourth all-time in Lady Bears history and is the most since an 82-80 loss in 2005. The record for most combined points is 179 during an 88-91 defeat in 2001 to Hood College.
Junior guard Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) carried St. Joseph's netting a game-high 31 points, recording her fourth career 30-point game, all previous three coming in her rookie season.
Despite never leading in the game, the Lady Bears gave the Bulldogs all they could handle. Brooklyn used the deep ball to gain an early advantage building a 10 point lead at the 8:26 mark on a triple by Lauren Plagainos.
After cutting the deficit to four, Brooklyn went on a 12-2 run capped by another Plagainos triple to build their largest lead of the game at 14 with 2:25 remaining in the half.
St. Joseph's crawled back into the game and after McQuillan's third three-pointer of the half at the buzzer, the Lady Bears headed into the lockers trailing by only six, 44-38.
The Lady Bears utilized full court pressure to open the second stanza and quickly equalized the game at 46-46 on another McQuillan triple, capping a 19-5 run to erase the deficit.
The game would knot two more times before Brooklyn would gain the lead for good. The Bulldogs pulled away building a 10 point lead, 75-65, with 4:39 to play.
St. Joseph's chipped away at the Brooklyn lead once again thanks to a blistering 59 percent connect rate in the half. The Lady Bears pulled to within one possession, 81-79, with under a minute remaining on a Joanna Marciniec (Glendale, NY/Baruch) jumper. Marciniec played a large role in the comeback bid scoring seven of her 14 second half points during the final push.
In the final minute, Brooklyn went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe on two occasions leaving the door open for St. Joseph's, but the Lady Bears were unable to capitalize. With 13 ticks remaining, St. Joseph's had the final possession needing a three to tie. They managed to get the ball in McQuillan's hands who tried to penetrate and kick out for a three, but the Lady Bears were unable to get off the equalizing shot.
Brooklyn captures their fourth win against the St. Joseph's in the last five meetings, however the Lady Bears maintain an 8-7 advantage in the series during Coach Carbone's tenure.
McQuillan shot 12-for-19 from the field and connected on a career-high tying six three pointers. She also swiped a game-high seven steals and handed out five assists. Marciniec finished with a career-high 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Named HVWAC Rookie of the Week earlier today, Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) added 12 points while sophomore Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) contributed 11 points rounding out the four Lady Bears in double figures. Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) dished out a career and game-high six assists.
Plagainos led Brooklyn College (5-2) with 24 points, finishing with five three-pointers and shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Four Bulldogs finished in double figures with Ariel Smith adding 19 points and seven rebounds, coming fresh off a triple-double performance, while Ryan Reeder chipped in 11 and Kathleen Haggerty contributed 10 points.
Next up for the Lady Bears, a clash on the road with sister campus St. Joseph's-Long Island on Saturday, December 11th as part of the East vs. West Tripleheader. Women's tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Danzi Athletic Center.