Women's Basketball Handles Rivier, 80-59, Saturday Afternoon

NASHUA, N.H. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team took care of business Saturday afternoon, taking down Rivier University (Rivier), 80-59, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside the Muldoon Center in Nashua, N.H. With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 7–13 overall and 5–2 in GNAC play, while the Raiders fell to 2–18 overall and 2-5 in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USJ started strong, building a 10–4 lead at the 6:20 mark as sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) paced the offense with four points. The Raiders closed the gap to two, but the Blue Jays responded with a 12–2 run to end the quarter — featuring four more points from Turcotte Briggs and four points from sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) — to take a 22–9 lead after one quarter.

Turcotte Briggs continued her strong offensive display in the second quarter, sparking a 7–4 run with a three-pointer to extend the gap to 29–13 at the 7:16 mark. Rivier answered with a 4–0 stretch, but USJ countered with a 9–2 run, fueled by five points from freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.) and four from Yorke to break open a 38–19 lead with 2:14 left in the half. The Raiders responded with a quick 4–0 spurt, but junior forward Gjamory'a McTier (Palmer, Mass.) sank a pair of late free throws to give the Blue Jays a 40–23 lead entering halftime.

The two teams traded baskets to open the third quarter, as Yorke converted a layup at the 7:31 mark to extend USJ's lead to 48–27. The Blue Jays continued to roll offensively, using an 11–2 run — fueled by five points from Yorke — to increase the margin to 27, 59–32, with 43 seconds remaining in the third. Rivier scored on the final possession of the quarter, trimming the deficit to 59–34 entering the fourth.

Rivier opened the fourth on a quick 5–1 spurt, cutting the deficit to 20, 60–40, at the 8:08 mark. USJ responded with a 10–4 run, capped by back-to-back triples from Turcotte Briggs and freshman forward Reagan Heafey-De Angelis (South Windsor, Conn.), to take a 70–44 lead with 4:55 left to play. The Blue Jays maintained control the rest of the way, securing their second straight win, 80–59.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Turcotte Briggs led all scorers with 17 points.

• Yorke and Evans joined her in double figures, scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively.

• Evans' point total marked a new career high.

• Yorke narrowly missed a triple-double, pulling down a team-high eight rebounds while dishing out a team-best eight assists.

• USJ dominated the glass, outrebounding Rivier, 42–33.

• The victory marked the Blue Jays' fourth straight GNAC road win of the season.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return to West Hartford for a GNAC matchup against intrastate and conference rivals Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday, February 3. Opening tipoff against the Falcons inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 5:00 p.m.

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