Written by Julia Ruocchio

When and Where:

December 8, 2024 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 8-1, 5-0; Yeshiva University, 0-8, 0-5 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) women's basketball team picked up a 79-56 win over Yeshiva University in a conference match-up at the Danzi Center on Sunday afternoon.

Top performers:

• Junior Megan Spina led St. Joseph's with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field, while adding six rebounds and three steals. She scored 13 points in the third quarter

• Senior Isabella Sierra recorded a team-high five steals while contributing eight points and five rebounds

• Junior Gabrielle Andreacchi and sophomore Rebecca Vitale each scored eight points for the Golden Eagles

• Seniors Felicia Barreiros and Hailey Clancy each scored seven points

• Yeshiva's Daniella Bessler led all players with 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double with five assists

• Shai Rahamim scored 14 points and recorded five steals

How it happened:

• Sierra scored the first five points for the Golden Eagles, as the hosts built a 7-3 lead three and a half minutes into the game

• Yeshiva came within two on a basket for Bessler, then SJLI went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a lead of 16-5 on a three-point basket for Andreacchi at the 2:25 mark

• St. Joseph's took a lead of 12 on two occasions in the final two minutes of the quarter, before the hosts went into the second frame with a lead of 10 (21-11)

• After SJLI scored the first basket of the second quarter, the Maccabees went on an 8-2 run to trim their deficit to six (25-19) at the 5:55 mark. Six of those eight points were scored by Rahamim

• A three for Rahamim about a minute later cut the lead to five (27-22), before St. Joseph's scored the next five points to go up by 10 (32-22) with 3:15 on the clock

• Jasmin Maly-Danker and Tali Cohen hit consecutive three-point baskets, then Rahamim made a jumper to make up an 8-0 run for the visitors that brought them within two (32-30) with 1:45 remaining

• The Golden Eagles responded by scoring eight of the final 11 points of the quarter, with Vitale connecting with a three just before the buzzer to put the hosts up 40-33 going into the break

• St. Joseph's came out of the break and went on an 11-0 run instantly to increase their lead to 18 (51-33). Spina scored eight of those points

• Shortly after, graduate student Charlotte Twohig hit a three to put the hosts ahead by 20 (55-35) with 6:26 on the clock

• The Golden Eagles led by at least 20 for the remainder of the third frame, with Clancy's layup with one second remaining giving SJLI a lead of 24 (66-42) for their largest lead of the game through three quarters

• The hosts maintained a lead of at least 18 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Isabelle LeBron made a three to put the Golden Eagles ahead by 26 (76-50) at the 5:25 mark

• St. Joseph's took their largest lead of the day on a made free throw by sophomore Gianna Capone with 4:05 on the clock to put them ahead by 27 (79-52), before SJLI won the game by a score of 79-56 to remain unbeaten in conference play

Notes: 

• St. Joseph's shot 37.2% from the field and 31% from three-point range

• The Maccabees posted a 38.9% shooting percentage overall and 26.7% from beyond the arc

• The Golden Eagles held the advantage in rebounds (51-39), points in the paint (40-28), and assists (18-16)

• SJLI received 38 points from their bench compared to Yeshiva's 12

Next up:

The Golden Eagles return to action on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:00 pm when they host United States Merchant Marine Academy for a conference match-up at the Danzi Center.