Women's Basketball Drops Home Opener to Sage, 67-56, Tuesday Night

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team dropped its home opener, 67–56, to non-conference foe Russell Sage College (Sage) Tuesday night inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays fall to 0-3 on the young season, whiel the Gators improved to 3-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game opened tightly, with neither side leading by more than three in the first quarter. USJ got early baskets from sophomore guards Trinity Cruz (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.), before a late three from sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) pulled the Blue Jays within one at 16–15 after the opening period.

Early in the second, junior forward Gjamory'a McTier (Palmer, Mass.) scored inside to make it 20–19, keeping USJ right in the mix. The Blue Jays regained the lead after a layup from Turcotte Briggs, 25-24, but the Gators closed the half on a 7-0 run, taking a 31-25 edge into the halftime break.

Turcotte Briggs opened the third with a jumper that brought USJ back within 31–27. The two sides would continue to trade buckets, until an old-fashioned three point play from Cruz maintined the four-point gap, 36-32, midway through the third. However, Sage used a late 7-3 stretch to extend the deficit to nine, 46-37, heading into the fourth wuater.

USJ gained early momentum to start the fourth with a pair of strong finishes from Yorke and Cruz pulling within 47–42 after a series of defensive stops. The Blue Jays continued to create chances inside, including baskets from McTier and Yorke, but Sage answered with timely scores to push the margin back to double digits. Turcotte Briggs caught fire late, knocking down three fourth-quarter threes and adding a free throw to bring USJ as close as 62–53 with under two minutes remaining, but the Blue Jays couldn't get enough stops in the final minute as Sage closed out the 67–56 finish.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Turcotte Briggs led all scorers with 23 points.

• Cruz added 10 points, four assists, and three steals.

• McTier posted eight points and 10 rebounds.

• Yorke contributed eight points and matched McTier with 10 rebounds.

• Junior forward Madeline Greene (Storrs, Conn.) added three blocks and two steals.

• USJ shot 39.3 percent from the field and 6-for-15 from three.

• Sage held a 47–34 rebounding edge, including 20 offensive boards.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays head on the road to Williamstown, Mass., for the opening night of the Morin Memorial Tournament, hosted by Williams College, on Friday, November 21. Opening tip-off against the host Ephs inside Chandler Gymnasium is set for 6:00 p.m.

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