PAXTON, Mass. – Graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) notched her second double-double of the season to lead the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team past Anna Maria College (AMC), 75-55, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Wednesday night inside the Fuller Activities Center in Paxton, Mass. With the result, the Blue Jays improve to 9-5 on the season and 4-0 in GNAC play while the AMCATS drop to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ jumped out to a quick lead, opening the game on an 8-2 run, fueled by six points from graduate student forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) to hold the lead at the 7:21 mark.
• The Blue Jays extended the gap to double digits, 12-2, as freshman guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) and Ouellette scored back-to-back buckets, forcing an AMCATS timeout at the 5:17 mark.
• USJ continued to pull away, closing the first quarter on a 7-0 run, featuring four points from Ouellette, to take a 26-8 lead into the second.
• The Blue Jays dominated the opening five minutes of the second quarter, utilizing a 12-2 run, featuring buckets from senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), graduate student guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.), freshman guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.), Ouellette, and graduate student forward Maci Dorantes (Bristol, Conn.) to hold a 38-10 edge at the 5:33 mark.
• USJ increased the lead to 30 entering the halftime break, as Verboven beat the buzzer with a putback layup to establish a 46-16 Blue Jays advantage.
• The two teams would trade shots to open the third, as a Heslin layup at the 5:35 mark maintained the 30-point lead, 55-25.
• USJ then utilized a 9-0 scoring run, fueled by five points from senior guard Jelly Frigo (West Hartford, Conn.) to extend the gap to 35, 64-29, with 1:57 left in the third.
• AMC would score four unanswered to close the quarter as the Blue Jays held a 64-33 lead entering the fourth quarter.
• The AMCATS would outscore USJ in the fourth quarter, 22-11, but the deficit was too great to overcome as USJ took home the victory, 75-55.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellette paced the team with 22 points and a season-high 11 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season.
• Slisz also netted double figures, scoring 15 points.
• She also dished out a team-high four assists.
• Freshman guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) recorded her first career point.
• USJ shot a season-high 60.4 percent from the field.
• The Blue Jays dominated on the glass, outrebounding the AMCATS, 36-19.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to West Hartford on Saturday, January 18, hosting Rivier University for a GNAC matchup. Tipoff against the Raiders inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 1:00 p.m.

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