Diliberto scores 1,000th career point

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – University of Saint Joseph junior guard Devon Diliberto (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 12 points and became the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 career points Thursday night, but the Blue Jays lost a 73-71 non-conference game at Old Westbury.

Diliberto joins Stacey Manfredi (1,809 from 1994-'98), Val Briggs (1,380; 1997-2001), Ilaria Schiano (1,294; 2007-'11) and Edna Caamano (1,208; 2002-'06) in the exclusive 1,000-point club. She needed 11 points coming into the game and finished the contest with 1,001 for her career through just under three seasons.

Diliberto hit the milestone with the first of two free throws with 5:01 to play. Her second make put USJ up 67-55, but Old Westbury would score 18 of the game's final 22 points to earn the win.

Old Westbury is 13-9 overall on the season; St. Joseph is 13-8.

"Devon's accomplishment tonight was made more even more impressive by the fact that she is a junior," USJ coach Kim Martin said. "She still has a lot of growth and potential left in her that will continue to help the program and contribute to an even more successful career."

Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) led USJ with 18 points and had six rebounds and six assists. Lindsay Feducia (Beacon Falls, Conn.) scored 11 for the Blue Jays, Claire Consonni (Bristol, Conn.) nine and Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Junior forward DeAndra Scott (St. Albens, N.Y.), the six-time Player of the Week this season in the Skyline Conference, led Old Westbury with 23 points and 16 rebounds.

After the Diliberto milestone, Old Westbury scored six consecutive points before Hyde hit a jumper to bump the USJ lead to 69-61 with 3:24 to play. The Panthers then scored the next nine points and took the lead at 70-69 with 1:12 left on the third consecutive basket from Antionette Jolly (Inwood, N.Y.)

Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) gave the Blue Jays the lead right back at 71-70 on a jumper with 58 seconds to play. But Old Westbury's Abigail Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made a layup with 22 seconds left; Clarissa Gallagher (Brooklyn, N.Y.) one free throw with 12 ticks remaining and USJ missed a potential tying shot at the buzzer.

St. Joseph next plays at Emmanuel, Tuesday Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. The game originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9 at Mount Ida has been postponed to Thursday Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.