Blue Jays Tame Wildcats, 78-55, On The Road During Regular Season Finale

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team capped off the 2022-23 regular season with a bang, taking down the Johnson & Wales University (JWU) Wildcats, 78-55, Tuesday night inside the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I. The 16 wins for the Blue Jays are the most since a 19-win season in 2010-11. With the result, the Blue Jays improve to 16-9 overall and 12-6 in the GNAC, while the Wildcats move to 9-15 overall and 6-11 in conference action.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: Saint Joseph 78, Johnson & Wales 55
Records: USJ (16-9, 12-6 GNAC), JWU (9-15, 6-11 GNAC)
Location: Wildcat Center (Providence, R.I.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Wildcats and Blue Jays traded blows in the early portion of the game, playing out a 6-6 tie after Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) knocked down a mid-range jumper at the 7:39 mark. JWU and USJ continued to trade buckets until Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) sunk a pair of free throws to give USJ a three-point edge, 11-8, with 2:50 left in the first. The hosts would cut the gap to one immediately afterwards, but Janai Oliver (Hartford, Conn.) quickly reestablished a three-point edge, making the wide-open layup after Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) found her wide open underneath the basket. Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.) kept the momentum going, finding the bottom of the net after a running floater over the outstretched arms of a JWU defender, increasing the lead to 15-10 with 1:32 remaining. Ouellette increased the run with a layup of her own as Verboven closed out the Blue Jays 7-0 stretch to increase the lead to eight, 18-10, after the first quarter.

USJ kept its foot on the gas to begin the second quarter, as Verboven made an easy driving layup to increase the gap to 10, 20-10. JWU would respond with a mid-range jumper, but Ouellette immediately followed up with a quick wide-open layup, reestablish a 22-12 edge for the Blue Jays at the 8:59 mark. Ouellette continued her hot start to the game, knocking down another jumper, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout trailing 24-12 with 8:20 left to play in the half. The second quarter continued to be all USJ coming out of the break, as Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) and Verboven increased the gap to 16 after back-to-back buckets to make it 28-12.

The Wildcats tried to mount a comeback, pulling back within 12, 28-16, after a 4-0 stretch with 4:09 on the clock. However, Verboven came up big, putting an end to the run after a nice putback layup, increasing the gap back to 14, 30-16. Slisz followed up the play by knocking down a triple, the first on the day for USJ, to break open a 17-point gap, 33-16, with 2:01 left in the second. Julia Olson (North Scituate, R.I.) increased the lead to 19 after knocking down a pair of free throws, while Heslin made it a 21-point gap, 37-16, after a putback layup with 1:11 left in the half. However, JWU closed out the half with a 6-0 stretch, cutting the deficit to 15, 37-22, heading into the halftime break.

JWU looked to gain early momentum in the third, opening up on a 4-2 stretch to cut the gap to 39-26 at the 7:46 mark. Verboven put an end to the stretch with a midrange jumper, but a fast break layup by the Wildcats forced a Blue Jays timeout with 6:45 on the clock. USJ took advantage of the break in play, exploding for a 5-0 stretch, capped off by a Slisz triple, before calling another timeout leading, 46-48, with 4:24 left in the quarter. However, this time it was the Wildcats who gained the edge out of the break, using a 7-0 run to cut the gap to 11, 46-35, with 3:31 to play. USJ wasted little time firing back, going on a 5-0 stretch of its own, fueled by Ouellette and a triple from Jelly Frigo (Canton, Conn.) to force a JWU timeout, down 51-35. The Wildcats would close the third on a 6-3 run, closing the gap to 54-41, heading into the fourth quarter.

Fudge got the quarter going right away, knocking down a triple at the 9:08 mark to increase the lead back to 16, 57-41. The two teams then began to trade baskets as USJ maintained the lead, 64-45, with 7:13 left in the game. A 4-0 USJ stretch, capped off by a Khalise Harris (South Windsor, Conn.) forced the hosts to call for a timeout, trailing 66-45, at the 6:28 mark. The Wildcats timeout proved timely, as they exploded for a 8-0 stretch, closing the deficit to 13, 66-53, with 5:07 left to play. Verboven put a quick stop to the stretch, knocking down a midrange jumper 13 seconds later. The Blue Jays would not allow the Wildcats to get any closer, as the visitors put on the clamps, closing out the game on a 12-2 run, to take home the 78-55 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ouellette finished with a game-high 17 points.
• Verboven (15 points), Fudge (12) and Slisz (10) all joined her in double figures.
• Heslin hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.
• Ouellette now ranks sixth in program history for single-season points, tallying 404 on the season.
• She is also eighth in single season rebounding, hauling in 211 so far in 2022-23.
• USJ shot an incredible 50.0 percent (31 of 62) from the floor on the night, including a 66.7 percent clip (6 of 9) from beyond the arc.
• The percentage is the best three-point shooting clip on the season for USJ.
• The Blue Jays dominated on the boards, outrebounding JWU, 43-27.
• The 16 wins is an improvement on last season, and the most since a 19-win season in 2010-11.
• The Blue Jays increased its winning streak to five games over the Wildcats.
• USJ took the lead in the all-time series, 18-17, with the victory.

UP NEXT

Women's basketball awaits their fate in the upcoming GNAC Postseason Tournament. The quarterfinals are set to take place next Tuesday, February 21.

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