WEST HARTFORD Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team battled their hearts out, but fell in triple overtime, 106-104, against rivals Albertus Magnus College (AMC) during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Tuesday night inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford. The Blue Jays, who trailed by 18 at the half, stormed back to send the game into overtime. Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) finished with 31 points while Taylor Verboven(Columbia, Conn.) dropped a 20-20 outing, scoring 25 points and hauling in 22 rebounds. The Blue Jay's 104 points were the second most in program history. The game was also the first time that USJ ever went to triple overtime. With the result, the Blue Jays drop to 13-7 overall and 9-4 in the GNAC, while the Falcons move to 18-1 overall with a 13-1 mark in conference play.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: USJ 104, AMC 106
Records: USJ (13-8, 9-5 GNAC), AMC (18-1, 13-1 GNAC)
Location: James A. Calhoun Gymnasium (West Hartford, Conn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons and Blue Jays traded buckets to start the game, playing out a tie until Verboven drove to the basket and finished through contact. Verboven knocked down the and-one free throw, giving the Blue Jays an early 5-2 edge at the 7-48 mark. AMC fought back as an old-fashioned play of their own swung the advantage in their favor, 8-7, with 7:08 on the clock. The two sides continued to go back-and-forth as another driving layup by Verboven forced the Falcons to call for a timeout, as the score remained tied, 11-11, with 5:59 left in the first. 

AMC would come out firing out of the timeout, exploding for an 11-2 run, jumping out to a 22-13 lead at the 3:14 mark. Jordan Farrell (West Hartford, Conn.) put an end to the Falcons stretch with a pair of free throws, but the Falcons fired right back, maintain a 12-point lead, 27-15, with 2:05 left in the first quarter. USJ would not go down easy though, fighting back for a 4-0 run, featuring free throws by Ouellette and a tough driving layup by Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) as USJ cut the gap to 27-19 entering the second quarter.

Farrell would score first for the Blue Jays in the second quarter, but AMC responded with a quick 4-0 run to reestablish a double-digit lead, 31-21, with 8:07 on the clock. Slisz cut the gap back to eight, but back-to-back three pointers by the Falcons saw the visitors take a 37-23 lead entering a media timeout at the 4:48 mark. Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) put a stop to the stretch, sinking a pair of free throws out of the media timeout, but USJ and AMC would trade salvos as the Flacons held a 41-27 edge with 3:05 left in the first half. The Flacons continued to roll, closing the half on a 9-4 stretch to enter the halftime break leading, 52-34.

The Falcons carried the momentum out of the break, opening the second half on a 6-2 stretch to take a 58-36 lead at the 7:44 mark. However, USJ answered back ferociously, using a 7-0 stretch, featuring and and-one play by Farrell, and four points from Ouellette to pull within 15, 58-43, at the 5:45 mark. Slisz continued to run with a nice drive to the basket, as USJ cut the score to 58-45 as the game reached a media timeout with 4:33 left to play in the third. However, the Falcons put a stop to the Blue Jays momentum, using a 5-0 stretch to retake a 17-point lead, 63-46, at the 3:31 mark. Verboven and Slisz quickly responded with a 4-0 Blue Jays stretch to cut the deficit to 63-50. USJ continued to fight back, decreasing the gap to 10, 64-53, after Verboven made a quick steal off a Falcons rebound before draining the easy layup, bringing the score to 64-54 with 1:42 left in the quarter. The Blue Jays continued to mount their ferocious comeback, closing the quarter on an 8-0 stretch, capped off by consecutive baskets by Ouellette, to pull within six, 64-58, entering the fourth quarter.

The USJ comeback extended into the fourth, as Slisz used two driving layups to bring USJ within two, 66-64 at the 7:56 mark. Verboven completed the comeback, making a nice floating jumper from the elbow, levelling the game at 66-66 with 6:23 to play. Both teams would play go defense over the new few minutes as the score remained even at 66 as the game reached a media timeout at the 4:54 mark. AMC would use a free throw to retake the lead, but Ouellette fired back with a turn around jumpshot to give USJ a 68-67 lead with 4:10 on the clock. Slisz increased the gap to three, 70-67 after a driving layup with 3:47 left to play. USJ would increase the lead back to three, but AMC levelled the score at 72-72 with a timely three-pointer at the 1:02 mark. Neither team could find the winning bucket in the closing seconds as the game entered overtime. 

The Falcons grabbed an early lead in the overtime period after making a free throw, but Ouellette quickly swung the lead back in USJ's favor, 74-73, knocking down a jumper at the 4:03 mark. AMC would take a 76-74 lead, but a 4-0 run featuring buckets from Verboven and Ouellette gave the lead back to USJ, 78-76 with 1:50 to play. Ouellette continued the run, extending the gap to six, 80-76, with 55 seconds left. However, the Falcons fired back with a 5-0 stretch, using a three-pointer to take an 81-80 lead, forcing USJ into calling a timeout with 9.4 seconds left in overtime. The Falcons would steal an inbounding USJ pass and sunk a pair of free throws to take an 83-80 lead. However, Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) drained a triple off the backboard to tie the score at 83-83 with 2.5 seconds left in overtime. The Falcons would not be able to get a shot up in the closing seconds as the game entered a second overtime period tied, 83-83. 

AMC started the second overtime period on a 3-0 stretch to jump out to a 86-83 lead, but Slisz cut the gap to one, 86-85 after a tough layup with 4:01 on the clock. USJ continued to fight, storming back to take an 87-86 lead after Fudge drained a pair of free throws at the 2:20 mark. AMC would fire back with free throws of their own, retaking an 89-88 lead at the 2:02 mark. However, Fudge came up big again with another timely triple, swinging the score back in USJ's favor, 91-89, with 1:53 left to play. AMC tied the game back up, but Verboven knocked down a midrange jumper to give USJ a 93-91 edge at the 1:31 mark. USJ would increase the gap to vie, but back-to-back three-pointer by AMC gave the Falcons a 97-96 lead with 15 seconds left in overtime. Slisz though, quickly levelled the game back up, 97-97, sinking the second of two free throws with nine seconds left as the score remained entering a third overtime. 

AMC jumped out to another early lead, 99-97, in the third overtime, knocking down a pair of free throws at the 4:44 mark. Ouellette would bank in a jumper to tie the game, but an and-one play by AMC saw the Falcons reestablish a 102-99 lead with 3:16 left to play. AMC would extend the gap to four, 104-100, but Slisz brought the score within three, 104-101 after a free throw with 2:13 left in the overtime frame. Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) would knock down in the final second, but the effort was not enough as AMC escaped with a 106-104 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ouellette finished with a career-high 31 points.
• Verboven and Slisz joined her in double-figures, scoring 25 and 24 points, respectively.
• The scoring total was also a career-high for Verboven.
• Verboven paced the Blue Jays on the glass, hauling in a career-best 22 rebounds to record a double-double.
• The rebounding total was the first time since Cheyenne-Mone Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) hauled in 20 boards against Lasell on Feb. 13, 2019.
• Ouellette also notched a double-double, tallying 16 rebounds to match her career-best.
• Farrell was the primary playmaker, dishing out a career-high eight assists.
• Farrell also hauled in a career-high five rebounds.
• The 104 points is the most since the 1996-97 season, where USJ scored 106 points against Rivier.
• AMC outshot USJ, 39.1 percent (34 of 87) to 38.8 percent (40 of 103).
• USJ dominated inside the paint, scoring 68 of their points from inside.
• After allowing seven made three-pointers in the first half, the Blue Jays only gave up two in the second.
• AMC extended its lead in the all-time series to 28-9.
• The Falcons increased its winning streak to 12 games against the Blue Jays.

 UP NEXT

Women's basketball returns to James A. Calhoun Gymnasium on Thursday, Feb. 2 for a matchup against Elms College. Tipoff against the Blazers is set for 5:00 p.m. in West Hartford. Tickets to attend Thursday's game can be purchased by visiting www.usjbluejays.com/tickets. Fans who cannot make it to the game in person can watch all of the action live by visiting https://portal.stretchinternet.com/usj/.

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