WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team got back in the win column, cruising past Dean College (Dean), 98-44, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Tuesday night inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 13-7 on the season and 8-1 in conference play while the Bulldogs move to 5-16 overall and 0-9 in the GNAC.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue Jays started the game red hot, grabbing an early 9-0 lead after an old-fashioned three-point play by senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) at the 7:59 mark.
• USJ continued to roll, increasing the gap to 14-2 after buckets from graduate students Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.), Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.), and Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.), and forcing Dean to call a timeout with 6:12 left in the first.
• The Blue Jays would close the quarter on a 15-4 run, fueled by five points from Heslin and eight from Verboven, as USJ held a 29-5 edge entering the second quarter.
• USJ would increase the gap to thirty, as Verboven dropped a sweet eurostep floater to establish a 39-9 advantage with 6:30 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays increased the gap to 34, as graduate student forward Maci Dorantes (Bristol, Conn.) and freshmen guards Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) and Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) all found the bottom of the net, sending the hosts into the locker room with a 54-20 lead.
• USJ would open the second half on a 10-2 run, capped off by a layup from Ouellette, extending the edge to 64-23 at the 7:12 mark.
• The Blue Jays kept hold of a 40-point advantage, taking a 75-35 lead into the fourth.
• Turcotte Briggs would begin to shoot the ball extremely well, scoring 11 points in the fourth, increasing the gap to 48, 88-40, with 5:33 left to play.
• The Blue Jays continued to control the game, securing a 98-44 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Turcotte Briggs had a career day, finishing with a career and game-high 21 points.
• Verboven, Ouellette and Slisz joined her in double-figures, scoring 17, 15 and 10 points, respectively.
• Ouellette was one rebound shy of a double-double, hauling in a team-high nine rebounds.
• Freshman guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) grabbed a season-high eight rebounds.
• Slisz dished out a team-high seven assists.
• Yorke and Dorantes swiped a team-high four steals.
• USJ outshot Dean, 59.2% (42-of-71) to 30.8% (16-of-52).
• The Blue Jays held a significant edge in rebounding, 50-19.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays head on the road, traveling to rivals Albertus Magnus College for a GNAC matchup on Saturday, February 8. Tipoff against the Falcons inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center in New Haven is set for 1:00 p.m.

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