Women's Basketball Falls at Home to Emmanuel, 77-40, Saturday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home contest to Emmanuel College (Emmanuel), 70-44, Saturday afternoon inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. Sophomore guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) notched her second career double-double, tallying a team-high 12 points, while matching her career-high of 13 rebounds. With the result, the Blue Jays fall to 5-13 overall and 3-2 in GNAC action, while the Saints improve to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Emmanuel dominated the first quarter, outscoring USJ 17-3 to seize an early lead. The Blue Jays began to find their offensive rhythm in the second, using a 7-2 run fueled by three points from junior forward Gjamory'a McTier (Palmer, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 27-14 with 1:55 remaining. The teams traded baskets down the stretch before freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.) knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper to end the half, sending USJ into the break trailing 32-16.

The Saints opened the second half strong, extending the margin to 26, 50-24, with 4:37 left in the third quarter. USJ generated a spark late in the period, as Evans and sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) buried back-to-back three-pointers to close the quarter and trim the deficit to 58-36. The comeback attempt fell short, however, as Emmanuel held a 12-8 scoring edge in the fourth quarter to secure a 70-44 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kulas paced the team with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

• Evans and sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) dished out a team-high three assists each.

• Kulas and Evans swiped a team-best two steals each.

• Emmanuel won the rebounding battle, 50-45.

• USJ were held to 26.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays head on the road for their next two contests, starting with a stop in Franklin, Mass., to face Dean College on Wednesday, January 28. Opening tip-off against the Bulldogs inside Pieri Gymnasium is set for 5:00 p.m.

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