Women's Basketball Late Comeback Falls Short Against Colby-Sawyer Saturday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team rallied late, but its comeback effort fell short in a 69–59 loss to Colby-Sawyer College (CSC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Saturday afternoon inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium. With the result, the Blue Jays fell to 7–15 overall and 5–4 in GNAC play, while the Chargers improved to 9–12 overall and 4–4 in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a back-and-forth start, CSC used an 11–2 run to break open a 19–6 lead at the 2:51 mark. USJ halted the run, closing the quarter on a 5–0 stretch following a jumper from sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) and an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.), trimming the deficit to 19–11 entering the second quarter. The Chargers regained momentum to open the second, using a 10–0 run to extend the lead to 29–11 with 5:33 on the clock. The Blue Jays responded with a 7–0 run, fueled by five points from freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.), cutting the margin to 29–18 with 2:33 remaining in the half. The teams continued to trade baskets before CSC knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper to take a 36–22 lead into the break.

USJ came out swinging to start the third quarter, opening on an 8–0 run — highlighted by five points from sophomore guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) — to pull within single digits, 36–30, at the 7:25 mark. CSC answered with an 8–2 run to push the lead back to 10, 44–34, with 4:09 left in the period. Turcotte Briggs brought the Blue Jays within six late in the quarter with a transition layup, but the Chargers closed the frame on a 5–0 run to take a 51–40 advantage into the fourth.

USJ refused to go away, opening the fourth quarter with a 7–3 run fueled by a triple from sophomore guard Trinity Cruz (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and a tough layup from Kulas to cut the deficit to seven, 54–47, with 7:05 remaining. Kulas continued her dominant performance, scoring seven unanswered points to pull USJ within four, 60–56, at the 4:23 mark. Yorke brought the Blue Jays even closer with a layup at 3:54, making it a three-point game at 61–58. However, CSC clamped down defensively the rest of the way and iced the game at the free-throw line to secure a 69–59 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kulas paced the offense with a career and game-high 26 points.

• Junior forward Madeline Greene (Storrs, Conn.) hauled in a team-high eight rebounds.

• Turcotte Briggs and Evans dished out a team-best three assists, while swiping two steals each.

• Greene and Turcotte Briggs swatted away a team-high two blocks each.

• The Blue Jays outshot the Chargers, 41.4 percent (24-of-58) to 40.4 percent (23-of-57).

• CSC outrebounded USJ, 40-31.

• Turnovers proved costly, as the Chargers scored 24 points off 16 Blue Jays turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays head on the road for a GNAC matchup against Norwich University on Saturday, February 14. Opening tipoff against the Cadets inside Andrews Gym in Northfield, Vt., is set for 3:00 p.m.

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