Women's Basketball Suffers Home Setback to Albertus Magnus Tuesday Night

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team suffered a setback at home Tuesday night, falling to intrastate and Great Northeast athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Albertus Magnus College (Albertus), 70-56, inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. WIth the result, the Blue Jays drop to 7-14 overall and 5-3 in GNAC play, while Falcons moved to 4-16 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) paced the USJ offense early, scoring five points as Albertus jumped out to a slim 9–7 edge at the 4:23 mark. The Falcons stifled the Blue Jays the rest of the quarter, closing on a 13–1 run to take a 20–8 lead into the second quarter. The visitors continued to keep USJ at bay, opening the second frame with a 10–4 run to extend the margin to 30–12 with 3:06 remaining in the half. USJ closed the half on an 8–2 run, fueled by four points from freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.), trimming the deficit to 35–22 entering halftime.

Turcotte Briggs jump-started the Blue Jays' offense in the second half, knocking down a pair of three-pointers, including one that sparked a 5–1 stretch capped by a sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) layup to pull USJ within single digits, 45–36, with 4:28 left in the third. The Falcons responded with a 9–4 run to push the lead back to 14, 54–40, with 1:15 on the clock. Sophomore guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) sank a late free throw to end the quarter, cutting the deficit to 58–43 entering the fourth. Kulas carried that momentum into the final period, scoring four straight points to make it 58–45 with 9:27 remaining. Albertus answered with an 8–0 run to open up a 66–47 advantage with 5:58 left to play. The deficit proved too much to overcome as USJ fell, 70–56.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Turcotte Briggs paced the offense with a team-high 21 points.

• Yorke and Kulas joined her in double figures, scoring 11 points each.

• Yorke notched a double-double on the night, hauling in a team-best 11 rebounds to go alongside a team-high five assists and five steals.

• USJ narrowly outrebounded Albertus, 47-46.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays round out a quick two-game homestand with a matchup against Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday, February 7. Opening tipoff against the Chargers inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 1:00 p.m.

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