Women’s Basketball Fends Off Mitchell in 65–61 GNAC Road Win Wednesday Night

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team returned to the win column Wednesday night, holding off intrastate foe Mitchell College, 65-61, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside the Yarnall Athletic Center in New London, Conn. With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 5-12 overall and 3-1 in GNAC action, while the Mariners fell to 2-11 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a back-and-forth start, sophomore guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) converted a transition layup to give USJ a 9-5 edge midway through the first quarter. Mitchell answered by trimming the deficit to one, 13-12, but Turcotte Briggs and junior forward Gjamory'a McTier (Palmer, Mass.) knocked down free throws to give the Blue Jays a 15-12 lead entering the second quarter.

USJ carried the momentum into the second, opening on a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer from freshman guard Maddy Evans (Hebron, Conn.) to build a 24-12 advantage. The Mariners briefly slowed the surge, but the Blue Jays responded with an 8-2 run fueled by baskets from Turcotte Briggs, sophomore guard Ella Kulas (Cheshire, Conn.) and junior forward Madeline Greene (Storrs, Conn.) to extend the lead to 32-15 with 2:02 left in the half. The teams traded three-pointers down the stretch as USJ took a 38-20 lead into the break.

Mitchell and USJ traded buckets to open the third quarter, with Turcotte Briggs finishing a layup to give the Blue Jays a 44-29 edge with 5:36 on the clock. The Mariners closed the quarter on a 5-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 51-38 entering the fourth.

Mitchell carried that momentum into the final frame, opening on a 10-0 run to pull within three, 51-48, with seven minutes remaining. Sophomore guard Nevaeh Yorke (Norwich, Conn.) halted the spurt with three straight points to push the lead back to six, 54-48, at the 6:23 mark. Mitchell later tied the game at 54-54 with a quick 6-0 run, but Turcotte Briggs and Evans drilled back-to-back three-pointers to spark an 8-0 USJ run that restored the advantage, 62-54, with 3:06 to play. The Mariners climbed back within one, 62-61, but Yorke and Turcotte Briggs sealed the win at the free-throw line to secure a 65-61 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Turcotte Briggs paced USJ with a game-high 25 points.

• Yorke hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds and dished out a team-best eight assists.

• Yorke and junior guard Kiatyanna Denmark (New Britain, Conn.) collected a team-high three steals apiece.

• USJ outshot Mitchell, 35.4 percent (23-of-65) to 33.3 percent (18-of-54).

• The Blue Jays narrowly won the rebounding battle, 36-34.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return to West Hartford for a GNAC matchup against Emmanuel College on Saturday, January 24. Opening tip-off inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 1:00 p.m.

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