Women's Hoops Use Big Second Quarter To Sink Mariners, 68-57

NEW LONDON, Conn – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team utilized a big second quarter to take down intrastate rival Mitchell College (Mitchell), 68-57, on the road on Thursday night inside the Yarnall Athletic Center in New London, Conn. Junior Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) had a career-day, dropping a career-high 29 points on the evening.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 68, Mitchell 57
Records: USJ 4-1, Mitchell 3-3
Location: Yarnall Athletic Center | New London, Conn.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening quarter was a close battle, as both teams traded buckets back and forth. A Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) layup knotted the score at 4-4 with 6:36 left on the clock. Mitchell would respond with a bucket of their own, but a quick 3-0 Blue Jay run saw USJ take a 7-6 lead. Verboven turned defense into offense, jumping in front of a Mariners pass before finishing at the other end to give USJ its first lead of the game at the 4:03 mark. A Mitchell triple saw the hosts retake the lead, but a 4-0 run, featuring another bucket from Verboven and a free-throw line jumper by Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.), gave the advantage back to USJ, 11-9, entering the second quarter.

The Blue Jays carried the momentum into the second quarter as Jordan Farrell (West Hartford, Conn.) scored an easy layup, extending the gap to four, 13-9. However, a 4-0 Mitchell run leveled the score and forced USJ to take a timeout with 7:37 left in the quarter. The Blue Jays came out of the timeout strong, as Verboven scored two tough driving layups to reestablish a four-point edge, 17-13. The Blue Jays then put on the clamps, not allowing another Mitchell point for nearly three minutes, as an 11-1 run, fueled by a Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) triple, gave the Blue Jays a 24-14 edge with 2:43 left in the first half. The Blue Jays continued to put its foot on the gas, increasing the lead to 16, entering the halftime break leading, 34-18.

Mitchell opened the third quarter on a 3-0 run, cutting the gap to 34-21 at the 7:16 mark. Ouellette cut the Mariners momentum with a jumper, but Mitchell continued to fight back, getting as close as 11, 38-27, midway through the quarter. The Blue Jays would pull further ahead, increasing the gap to as much as 18, 50-32, after an Ouellette layup at the 1:08 mark. However, the Mariners closed the quarter on a 3-0 stretch, giving USJ a 50-35 edge entering the final quarter of play.

After Verboven nailed a jump shot to begin the quarter, Mitchell responded with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 52-39 inside the opening two minutes. The Blue Jays though responded with a 6-0 stretch of their own, increasing the gap back to 19, 58-39, keeping the Mariners off the board for 2:36. However, Mitchell would not go down without a fight, firing back with a 6-0 stretch to get within 14, 58-44 at the 5:25 mark. The Mariners would continue to fight, using a 6-0 run to get back within single digits, 63-54, forcing a USJ timeout with 2:03 left in the game. However, Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) would sink three free throws to ice out the game as the Blue Jays held on for a 68-57 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ouellete led all scorers with a career-high 29 points
• Verboven also netted a career-high 18 points on the night
• She also dished out a game-high six assists while collecting seven rebounds
• Slisz notched her second career double-double, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds
• Frigo was a force defensively, pacing the team with three steals
• The Blue Jays held the Mariners to 28.2 percent shooting from the field and a 4.8 percent mark from beyond the arc
• Mitchell held the advantage on the glass, outrebounding USJ 43-39
• USJ increased its winning streak to two-games over Mitchell, extending its lead in the all-time series to 10-8.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays begin Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on the road at Anna Maria College on Saturday, December 3. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and AMCATS is slated for 2:00 p.m. inside the Fuller Activities Center in Paxton, Mass.

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