Release courtesy of St. Joseph's Athletics
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Samantha Retas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) etched her name in the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's basketball record books as she led the Lady Bears past Vaughn College, 76-57, in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) play at the Hill Center Wednesday night.
The senior forward secured her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a school single-game record 25 rebounds for the Lady Bears (8-7, 2-0 HVIAC), who snapped a two-game losing streak. With the performance, Retas moves into sole possession of first place on the all-time St. Joseph's rebounding record previously held by Svetlana Medvedeva (SJC '07) with 799 total boards.
Senior Taylor Raccuglia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) scored a team-best 23 points, including 15 in the first half, to go along with six rebounds and seven assists in the victory. Freshman guard Destiny Marino (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) tied a career-best with 17 points as well as eight boards and seven assists.
HVIAC-leading scorer Cianna Peterson notched a game-high 26 points and five rebounds in a losing effort for the Warriors (6-4, 1-3 HVIAC). Aisyha Dunlap also recorded a double-double, scoring 14 points and corralling 16 boards for Vaughn.
St. Joseph's stormed out of the gate, exploding for an 11-0 run in the first 2:51 of the first half and would not relinquish the lead all game. Vaughn would cut the lead to within five, but a 15-4 Lady Bears surge late in the half helped push the lead to 37-28 at halftime.
Leading by eight points three minutes into the second half, St. Joseph's would then go on 17-4 run over the next 5:43 to extend their lead to its largest at 59-38. Marino tallied six points and three assists on this run, while Raccuglia added three assists to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Bears continued their dominance on the glass tonight, earning a 61-48 rebounding edge. The 61 rebounds is the second-highest total all season. They also distributed the ball well tonight, owning a sizable 22-5 advantage on assists. On the defensive end, St. Joseph's held Vaughn to just 29.2% (21 for 72) shooting throughout the game, while they shot 38.8% (31 for 80) from the field.
Up next, the Lady Bears continue their five-game home stand as they will face off with Briarcliffe College on Friday, January 23rd at the Hill Center. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video coverage will be available at SJCBears.com.
