Terriers Conclude Regular Season at Central Connecticut on Thursday

THE MATCHUP:
St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Central Connecticut
Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m.
New Britain, CT
Live Video | Live Stats
 
The Terriers (17-12, 11-6) conclude their regular season on the road when they travel to Connecticut to face the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State University (7-20, 4-13) on Thursday evening at Detrick Gymnasium. The contest is slated to tip-off at 7 p.m. St. Francis Brooklyn is currently riding a two-game winning streak, while the Blue Devils are desperate for a victory as they are vying with Fairleigh Dickinson for the eighth and final spot in the NEC Conference Tournament, which begins on Monday, March 11. The Terriers have clinched a home-game for the first-round quarterfinal for the first time in program history. St. Francis Brooklyn has been victorious in 11 conference contests this season. A feat that has never been accomplished before. In addition, 10 wins at the Pope this season, is the most since the 2013-14 season, where they had a dozen.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES:
St. Francis Brooklyn trails Central Connecticut 11-30 all-time. The previous outing between the two conference foes saw the Terriers take home victory in their "Play4Kay" pink game at the Pope Physical Education Center. The final score ended up at 70-58. Not having the lead, the entire contest, gave St. Francis breathing room as they went in to the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils played their best 10 minutes just a bit too late, as they outscored the home team 20-17 in the respective stanza. Junior guard Jade Johnson led her squad with 21 points. Six of those points came from downtown. Senior guard Maria Palarino tallied a season high 18 points, and grabbed nine rebounds in the process. The opposition saw three players record double-digit points (Patterson 16, Berube 14, McCamus 10). As a team, the Terriers outscored the Blue Devils 36-28 in the paint, and tallied 11 fast break points as well. The home team also held Central Connecticut to a 16.7% stat-line from three-point land.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Three pointers were the talk of Remsen Street for the first five minutes of the contest against the Mount on Monday evening. Freshman guard Ebony Horton scored six of the team's first 10 points on the evening. The Mountaineers would narrow the lead to as low as a lone point when Jatarrikah Settle would lay one in to make it a 10-9 game. Senior guard Amy O'Neill had other plans for her squad, as she knocked home a wide open three-pointer to extend the lead to four. That shot began a 13-2 run that featured senior guard Maria Palarino with four points from the floor, and graduate guard Dominique Ward with the same figures in back-to-back opportunities on O'Neill assists. St. Francis Brooklyn would end the quarter ahead by six on the opposition. The second quarter featured a miniature Mountaineers comeback that saw them narrow the lead once again to as low as four, with a Daly Sullivan three-point goal from the left side before Horton made a second-chance lay-up to extend the lead once again, back to six. St. Francis Brooklyn had a difficult time in the paint, as they lost the battle 12-8 in the respective quarter, along with being outscored by the opposition's bench 9-0. The Mount would convert 7-of-12 from the field in the second stanza and finish ahead only by four points. An explosive third quarter allowed the Terriers to extend the lead back to 12 with a 16-8 differential, that was led by junior guard Jade Johnson. Quiet most of the evening, the star guard led the way with her only triple of the contest, and converting two-of-four from the field. St. Francis ended the quarter on a 5-0 in the final two minutes with four of the six coming from Johnson, and two from her Australian counterpart, Amy O'Neill. As a team, the Terriers assisted on four of five baskets in the stanza. A subpar final few minutes of the fourth quarter made the fans a bit anxious, as their team was minutes away from securing the first home game in NEC Tournament history. The Mountaineers put up a massive fight that had déjà vu written all over, from the January 28 contest in Emmittsburg. The Terriers fell in that contest by three in a fourth quarter thriller led by Juliette Lawless. The difference, Lawless had four fouls and needed to be extra careful in Brooklyn this evening. Her squad fought back and narrowed the lead to three on a Mount 11-2 run, led by none other than Lawless herself, where she would score 10 points in the final stanza. During the run, freshman forward Michaela Harrison put the game within five points on a three-point dagger from just in front of her bench to make the home team earn their home game. The Terriers would close out the contest as multiple foul calls on Lawless, Sullivan, and Birkhead respectively sent Jade Johnson and Ally Lassen to the line that extended the game to six. St. Francis Brooklyn would come away as victors of the contest by a score of 69-65. St. Francis Brooklyn could not win the battle of the respective categories as they were lower in the points off turnover column (12-10). Points in the paint (34-28). Second chance points (19-14). Fast break opportunities (11-10), and bench points (20-9).
 
TEAM NEC LEADERS:
The Terriers are currently first in the conference in scoring (74.9 ppg), free-throw percentage (74.6) field goal percentage (44.3%), rebounding margin (+4.5), rebounding offense (41.1), three-point field goal percentage (38.8%), assists per game (16.8), total assists (488), defensive rebounds (28.6 RPG), and assist-turnover ratio (0.9). St. Francis is tied with Sacred Heart in the latter category.
 
INDIVIDUAL NEC LEADERS:
The Terriers have five players ranked in the top 30 of the conference in scoring (Johnson, Lassen, Palarino, O'Neill, Horton). Johnson is ranked second in points per game with 19.9. O'Neill leads the conference in both assists (247) and assists per game (8.5). Sophomore forward Ally Lassen and senior guard Maria Palarino lead the conference in field-goal percentage (56.7 and 51.3 respectively). Mia Ehling and Jade Johnson sit atop the three-point field-goal percentage list (43.4 and 42.7 respectively). Johnson also sits first in free-throw shooting percentage (92.8). Amy O'Neill ranks first in assist/turnover ratio (+2.0). O'Neill also has averaged the most minutes played per game (37.7).
 
LINDA CIMINO REWRITES PROGRAM HISTORY BOOK:
In her first year at the helm of the Terriers, head coach Linda Cimino has gotten her team the most conference wins the program has ever seen with 11 and counting. Her squad also has won 10 contests at the Pope Physical Education Center, which is the most since the 2013-14 season.
 
MILESTONE WATCH:
Junior guard Jade Johnson is 14 points away from taking over as the Terrier's single-season scoring record holder away from hall-of-famer Karen-Erving Schiera (591). Jade is also a pair of field goals away from 7^th all time on the single season field goal completion listing. She is chasing Pam Curcio (191 | 1987-88). Jade is four away from taking over 6^th from Karen Erving-Schiera, who holds that spot with 192 during the 1989-90 season. She is also seven away from reaching the top-five in the respective category passing Jaymee Veney (196 | 2014-15). Johnson is a single free-throw away from passing Tiffany Hill (104) on the completed free-throws during a season list at 8^th all-time. In addition, Jade is seven away from passing Karen Erving-Schiera (109 | 1988-89). Finally, Johnson is four three-point attempts away from surpassing Tiffany Hill (231 | 2007-08) for second all-time on the respective list throughout her illustrious career. Senior guard Amy O'Neill (64) is five steals away from passing Dot Guerriero (68 | 1996-97), and Leah Fechko (68 | 2015-16) on the single season steals listing.
 
JADE JOHNSON ENTERS GOLDEN TERRITORY:
Australian native Jade Johnson was welcomed into the 1,000-point club on Saturday, February 16 against the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn. The junior guard tallied 31 points against the down the block rivals. Most recently, she tallied another 12 points against Mount St. Mary's on Monday March 4. She was recognized for her entrance into the prestigious club against Central Connecticut on President's Day afternoon. Jade also broke the single-season three-pointers mark, who surpassed Tiffany Hill (85 | 2007-08). Johnson now has 97 and counting. In addition, she currently sits at 1,123 points. She is now chasing Katja Bavendam (1,130) for 11^th on the respective chart. Jade is also two triples away from surpassing Chris Cunningham (191) for 3^rd all time on the triples made in her career. Jade sits with 190 heading into Thursday's contest.
 
MARIA PALARINO KEEPS MAKING HISTORY:
St. Francis Brooklyn welcomed the 17^th student-athlete in program history to the 1,000-point club as Irwin, PA native and senior guard Maria Palarino accomplished the feat on Monday, January 28 at Mount St. Mary's. Palarino would accomplish points number 1,000 and 1,001 on a right-handed lay-up just seven minutes into the second quarter of the contest. Most recently against Mount St. Mary's, Maria contributed five points. She broke away from Elaine Hunt (1,084) to take sole possession of 13^th place on the all-time scoring chart. She is now chasing current teammate Jade Johnson, who sits with 1,123 points in 12^th place. In addition, with her six rebounds against the Mountaineers on 3/4, she inched closer to 12^th all-time in rebounding as she is only five away from passing Patrice Erving (626) on the respective list. Palarino is also two free-throws away from surpassing Jasmine Robinson for 7^th all time on the free-throws attempted list. Five away from sixth all time, would be sliding in front of Pam Curcio, who sits with 380 in her career.
 
TOP OF THE NATION:
Australian native Amy O'Neill currently sits atop the total assist chart with 247 and counting. O'Neill is also ranked first in the nation in assists per game (8.5). She also ranks 10th in minutes played per game by averaging 37.65 minutes. Amy currently sits with two triple-doubles on the season. Three others in UMKC's Ericka Mattingly and Portland State's Ashley Bolston, and Notre Dame's Jackie Young are the lone three in the nation with two accomplishments. Junior guard Jade Johnson is third in free-throw percentage at 92.8% Johnson sits at 7^th in the nation with 97 triples made. Johnson is also ranked 11^th in triples made per game with 3.34. Johnson continues raking in the recognition at 19^th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 42.7. In addition, Johnson is ranked 22^nd in the nation in total points on the season (578).
 
NEC WEEKLY AWARDS:
Junior guard Jade Johnson was selected to this week's "Prime Performer" list for the 11^th time this season. A week ago, she was named "Player of the Week" for the second time this season by the Northeast Conference. The other Terrier to be named player of the week was Amy O'Neill a mere two weeks ago. Both players took home the honors for the first time in their careers. Other student-athletes to make the respective list include Maria Palarino, Amy O'Neill, Ally Lassen and Dominique Ward.
 
UP NEXT:
The Terriers finish the regular season on Thursday, March 7 when they travel to New Britain and face the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut University for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The contest will be played at the Detrick Gymnasium.