WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – University of Saint Joseph senior guard Brianna Ferraro (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 18 of her career-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Blue Jays to a 57-50 victory over Saint Joseph's College of Maine Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference game at the O'Connell Center.
USJ improved to 7-10 overall and 2-1 in the GNAC. The Monks of SJC lost for the first time in the conference and dropped to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the GNAC.
The Blue Jays led 23-22 at halftime after a three-pointer from Lindsey Dionne (Portland, Conn.) with 19 seconds left in the half and never trailed in the second half.
Ferraro had eight points in the first two minutes after the break on a conventional three-point play, a deep ball from behind the arc and a jump shot to help USJ ease out to a 31-24 edge. The Monks pulled within 33-29 two minutes later after a jumper from Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine). But an ensuing 9-0 run made it 42-29 USJ with 12:08 to play. Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) stuck consecutive jump shots in the spurt, which concluded with a Ferraro layup.
The lead peaked at 14, 46-32 on a jump shot from Carlee Putnam (Niantic, Conn.) with 10:51 to play and USJ retaining at least a nine-point lead until the closing seconds.
Ferraro shot 10 of 18 from the floor including 7 of 10 in the second half. Framski had 12 points to go with five steals. Putnam and Elisha Pertillar (Windsor, Conn.) each had seven rebounds.
Assante had a team-high 15 points and a game-high four assists. Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) had 11 points and eight rebounds for SJC. Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Verm.) had a game-high nine rebounds for the Monks and Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) added eight boards.
The Blue Jays forced the Monks into 28 turnovers, scoring 22 points on the opportunities while SJC scored just 11 points off 21 Blue Jays turnovers. SJC outrebounded USJ, 46-36 and had a 15-8 edge on second-chance points.
USJ hosts Anna Maria Tuesday, Jan. 27 in a GNAC game at 7 p.m. SJC is at University of New England Monday in a 7 p.m. non-conference game.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
