NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Attempting to avenge their worst loss of the season, the St. Joseph's College women's basketball team was unable to upset the top-seeded Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Panthers, falling 73-47 in the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference championship game on Sunday evening.
The Lady Bears easily bypassed Berkeley with a balanced attack in the semifinals jumping out to a 10 point lead early in the game and never looking back, setting up the rematch of last year's title game between the top two seeds. Ashley McQuillan (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Prep) scored a game-high 17 points to lead 10 different Lady Bears to score at least two points for Coach Frank Carbone. Teresa Mangan (Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) was the only other Lady Bear in double-figures adding 10 points.
Davene Willis paced Berkeley (2-17) with a 10 point, 13 rebound double-double. Rahinet Koti scored nine points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had six blocks. Four Knights finished with double-digit rebounds.
In the championship tilt, St. Joseph's fought hard to overcome the severe size discrepancy they faced with the shortest Panther equaling the tallest person on the Lady Bears. This proved to be a factor again as in the regular season matchup in which Albany Pharmacy handed the Lady Bears an 82-39 setback.
The Panthers controlled the glass outrebounding the Lady Bears 34-15 in the opening half, pulling down more offensive rebounds (18) than St. Joseph's had in total. This led to 14 second chance points and a 31-18 halftime lead.
The Lady Bears struggled to get clean looks all day and the Panthers did a good job at using their half-foot height advantage over Lady Bears' leading scorer, McQuillan, holding her to only six points. St. Joseph's also failed to connect from behind the arc going 0-for-13.
Forwards Janine Doran (South Ozone Park, NY/Archbishop Molloy) and Allison Kavanagh (Woodhaven, NY/Mary Louis) were the only two who managed to hit double-figures, with Doran tallying 13 points before fouling out and Kavanagh adding 10 points and six rebounds in her final collegiate game.
Three Panthers posted double-doubles for Albany Pharmacy (16-5), who won their first HVWAC basketball title. Tournament MVP Alyson Johnson had 15 points and 13 rebounds while her sister Kelsey Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cassie White scored 17 points with 11 rebounds.
In ceremonies after the tournament, McQuillan and Doran were named to the 2010-2011 HVWAC All-Conference Team. It is McQuillan's third straight selection and the first for sophomore Doran. St. Joseph's concludes their 2010-2011 season with an 11-16 record.