WBB Suffer Setback Against USJ

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's basketball team suffered a 68-57 setback on Thursday evening against St. Joseph University in non-conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners trailed by just two points after the first quarter, before the Blue Jays ran away in the second frame, outscoring Mitchell 23-9 to take a 34-18 lead into halftime.

Amina Wiley (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led Mitchell, scoring a team-high 19 points on 7-14 shooting to go along with a game high 15 rebounds. It marks the second double-double in a row for the senior forward, who put up 23 points and 19 rebounds on Tuesday, November 22 in a loss to Western Connecticut State University. Junior Yasmine Santos (Pawtucket, R.I.) also reached double-figures, scoring 10 points while added six rebounds and three steals. Sam McKenna (Millbrook, N.Y.) added nine points, and Dede Stevenson contributed eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the loss.

Junior Jordan Ouellette paced USJ with a game-best 29 points on 12-18 shooting. Taylor Verboven filled the stat sheet to the tune of 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Maya Slisz posted a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Blue Jays, who were able to bounce back from their first loss of the season.

Trailing by 16 entering the third quarter, the Mariners continued to battle, remaining within striking distance and winning the stanza 17-16. The Blue Jays increased their lead to 19 points midway through the fourth quarter, but Mitchell fought back, trimming the deficit to single digits on a layup by McKenna with just over two minutes left in the game. That's as close as the home team would get, however, as a Verboven layup with 1:24 on the clock pushed the lead back to double digits, where it would remain.

The Mariners shot just 28.2% as a team, but were able to control the paint, winning the rebounding battle 43-39. Mitchell turned the ball over 19 times, the second lowest number of the season and six fewer than USJ. In turn, Mitchell finished with 21 points off turnovers to just 14 for the Blue Jays.

The Mariners (3-3) will look to bounce back when they host Westfield St. on Tuesday, December 6^th, at 6:00 pm. USJ (4-1) play next on Saturday, December 3^rd, when they travel to Anna Maria.