BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY– The St. Francis Brooklyn women's basketball team (16-12, 10-6) handled the Bulldogs of Bryant University (9-18, 7-9) by a score of 101-77 on the program's "Senior Day" at the Pope Physical Education Center on Saturday afternoon. The victory also secured the Terriers 10 conference wins for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Terriers have moved into a tie with Saint Francis University for third place in the Northeast Conference standings. The Bulldogs failed to gain ground on the Seahawks of Wagner College, as they suffered a loss this afternoon. They remain in the seventh spot.
Coming off a pair of tough losses in western Pennsylvania roughly seven days prior, St. Francis Brooklyn wasted no time in getting things started, as senior guard
Amy O'Neill converted on an open jumper from just inside the paint. O'Neill continued to make her mark on Remsen Street, as she assisted on freshman guard
Ebony Horton's lay-up to secure her spot as the Northeast Conference's all-time assist leader in a single season (230). The Terriers went on a 6-0 run that featured all six points coming from the three-point specialist in
Jade Johnson. She would convert on an open jumper from the far-right corner on the first, and would drive down low and get fouled by Bryant's Scanlan to send her to the line. The Bulldogs responded back with a 9-2 run to knot the score at 25 a piece on a Scanlan fast break lay-up. St. Francis Brooklyn ensured that their lead would not be broken as O'Neill sank in a triple to extend the lead to 28. Her squad finished off with the final two points of the quarter on two free-throws by O'Neill to cap the first period with a five-point lead.
Changes were to be made for both squads. Specifically, for the Terriers, as they went on an 11-1 run for a marvelous three and a half minutes of game-time that featured
Amy O'Neill grab nine points on three possessions. A steal from sophomore
Abby Anderson led to an 11-point advantage for the Terriers that saw
Jade Johnson secure her second triple of the contest. St. Francis outscored the opposition 21-14 in the second quarter. The home team would score eight points off five turnovers, along with five second chance opportunities.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room on a 9-2 run that stemmed back from the first half. Bryant would see Naomi Ashley contribute four points during the sequence, along with Sydney Holloway and her jumper just outside the paint for a pair of points. The opposition closed the gap to as small as five points before the Terriers blew the game wide open on a 17-4 run, heading into the fourth quarter. The illustrious run by St. Francis Brooklyn featured points from up and down the roster. Notably, six points each from
Ebony Horton and
Jade Johnson. The home team would go on yet another 11-2 run into the fourth quarter, and would outscore the opposition 29-7 at the six-minute mark of the final stanza in an eight-minute span.
St. Francis Brooklyn concluded the contest with their fourth 100-point performance of the season, that featured recognition of senior's
Amy O'Neill,
Maria Palarino,
Dana DiRenzo,
Lorraine Hickman,
Dominique Ward,
Mia Ehling, and
Tori Wagner as career Terriers forever.
The Terriers did not surrender the lead once in the contest, as they led for a full 40 minutes of action. St. Francis Brooklyn also lead at the end of every quarter, and outscored the opposition in each stanza as well. Bryant led the Terriers in the battle of the paint 52-32, and in bench points 39-26.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 101 | Bryant - 77
- Senior guard Amy O'Neill tallied a career high 28 points, assisted on nine baskets, and grabbed six rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
- Junior guard Jade Johnson registered 26 points, grabbed a rebound, and converted nine-of-nine from the charity stripe. In addition, Jade converted seven-of-15 from the field in 35 minutes of play.
- Freshman guard Ebony Horton scored 13 points, assisted on three, and grabbed seven rebounds. She would convert five-of-10 from the field in 27 minutes of play.
- Sophomore forward Ally Lassen recorded 10 points, stole one, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked one in 26 minutes of game-time.
- Senior guard and captain Dana DiRenzo tallied five points, grabbed three rebounds, and stole one in 15 minutes of play.
- Senior guard and captain Maria Palarino scored six points, assisted on four, stole a pair, and registered a block in 17 minutes of play.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers close out their regular season home schedule on Monday evening, March 4, when they welcome the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's (MD) for a 7 p.m. tipoff from the Pope Physical Education Center.
