Kulas Scores Career-High 21 as Women’s Basketball Tops Dean, 79–60

FRANKLIN, Mass. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team got back in the win column Wednesday night, securing a 79–60 victory at Dean College during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside Pieri Gymnasium in Franklin, Mass. Sophomore guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) continued her stretch of impressive performances, scoring a career-high 21 points to lead the offense. With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 6–13 overall and 4–2 in GNAC play, while the Bulldogs fell to 5–13 overall and 0–5 in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USJ opened the game strong, using a 6-0 run capped by four points from junior guard Kiatyanna Denmark (New Britain, Conn.) to take the early lead. The Bulldogs responded with back-to-back three-pointers, but Kulas finished a tough driving layup at the 4:24 mark to extend the Blue Jays' advantage to 14-6. Dean answered by closing the opening quarter on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to two, 17-15.

Dean carried that momentum into the second quarter, opening on a 4-0 spurt to take a 19-17 lead at the 9:11 mark. USJ responded behind a 6-2 run capped by a euro-step layup from sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.), forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout trailing 25-21 with 5:31 remaining. The teams traded baskets down the stretch before USJ closed the half red-hot, using an 11-2 run highlighted by four points from freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.) to take a 41-30 lead into halftime.

The Blue Jays continued to control play to open the third quarter, using an 8-0 run fueled by four points from Yorke to extend the lead to 49-30 with 7:52 on the clock. Dean halted the surge, but USJ stretched the margin back to 20, 56-36, after Denmark converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 3:30 mark. The Blue Jays kept their foot on the gas, closing the quarter on an 8-5 run highlighted by four points from junior forward Gjamory'a McTier (Palmer, Mass.) to carry a 64-41 advantage into the fourth. Dean outscored USJ 19-15 in the final period, but the cushion proved too large to overcome as the Blue Jays secured a 79-60 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kulas scored a career-high 21 points to pace the offense.

• Denmark also dropped a career-best point tally, scoring 17 on the night.

• Denmark, McTier and Yorke all grabbed a team-best eight rebounds each.

• Yorke dished out a team-best four assists while swiping a team-high four steals.

• USJ won the rebounding battle, 52-36.

• The Blue Jays also dominated inside, scoring 48 points from inside the paint.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays wrap up a two-game road trip with a stop in Nashua, N.H., on Saturday, January 31, for a GNAC matchup against Rivier University. Opening tipoff against the Raiders inside the Muldoon Center is set for noon.

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