NEW ROCHELLE, NY – In both team's final tuneup before the HVWAC Tournament, The College of New Rochelle and St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) played a playoff-type game, with tournament seeding placement on the line.  The Lady Bears emerged with a hard-fought, 56-53 win.

With the win, St. Joseph's earns the #2 seed in the HVWAC Tournament, with the Blue Angels taking the #4 seed.  CNR will host Yeshiva University in a Play-In Game on Thursday, February 14 at 8:00 PM in The Wellness Center.

The Lady Bears took their first lead since 4-2 following a three pointer by Samantha Retas with 3:40 left made the score 52-51.  The Blue Angels responded with a Jasmine Brandon layup to regain the lead with 2:35 remaining, but Janine Doran put St. Joseph's ahead for good with 1:57 left and after two CNR turnovers, Taylor Raccuglia sank two free throws to provide the final margin.

After St. Joseph's took the early, 4-2, lead, the Blue Angels used a 17-0 run to open up a 15 point lead, 19-4, with 11:59 left in the opening stanza.  CNR maintained a lead of at least nine points the rest of the half before taking a 13 point lead, 33-20, into the half.

The Lady Bears slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half, setting up the tense final minutes.

Brandon led all scorers with 29 points, adding eight rebounds.  Alyssa Pechin chipped in with 13 points and eight steals.