Basketball Beats Westfield State, 70-64

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) scored 16 points apiece and the University of Saint Joseph basketball team outlasted Westfield State down the stretch to earn a 70-64 non-conference victory Thursday at the Woodward Center.

St. Joseph improved to 7-7 overall; Westfield State had its five-game winning streak snapped and is 9-6.

Devon Diliberto (Waterbury, Conn.) had a double-double for the Blue Jays with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with five assists. Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) had nine points and seven rebounds while Sullivan had eight rebounds and Hyde added five assists.

USJ trailed 33-30 at halftime and 37-36 three minutes into the second half before taking control with a key 14-2 run. It started when Hyde made a jumper to erase the Blue Jays' final deficit of the game with 15:46 to play and ended with a conventional three-point play from Framski with 11:13 remaining to put USJ up, 50-39.

Westfield was twice able to pull within two points in the closing stages, but the Blue Jays fought off each challenge. At 61-59, Sullivan made two free throws with 1:45 left to push the lead back to four and at 64-62 Diliberto made two more with 29 seconds remaining to give USJ breathing room at the end.

After making just 1 of 6 free throw attempts in the second half (and 4 of 10 for the game), USJ made 10 of 12 in the final 1:45. The Blue Jays wound up on the plus-side of three metrics that have plagued them in recent games: USJ outrebounded Westfield 47-37, had more second-chance points, 11-10 and more points in the paint, 26-22.

USJ plays at St. Joseph's College of Maine in a GNAC game, Sat. January 18 at 1 p.m. The Blue Jays next play home Mon. Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. against Suffolk.