Saint Joseph (CT) Upsets #1 Seed Johnson & Wales In GNAC Women’s Semifinals

Johnson & Wales University Press Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman Grace Jaffray scored a game-high 31 points for the No. 1 seed JWU (Providence) women’s basketball team in an 89-73 loss to No. 4 University of Saint Joseph Thursday night in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinal action at the Wildcat Center.

The eight-time GNAC Rookie of the Week and odds-on favorite for conference Rookie of the Year connected on 5-of-8 from downtown and also pulled down eight boards for the Wildcats, who finished the season with a 23-2 record; the 23 wins are the second-highest total in program history.

Freshman Brianne Foley went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals while classmate Mia Cruz came off the bench and racked up eight points, eight rebounds, and three steals in 30 minutes of action.

The Wildcats scored the first nine points of the game before the Blue Jays closed the first quarter on a 17-7 run to lead by one. The visitors stretched the lead to seven at the half (43-37) before outscoring JWU 23-15 in the third to open up a 15-point lead headed to the fourth (66-51).

Head coach Dino Porcic switched to a 2-3 zone defense to open the fourth, and the move provided immediate dividends in the way of a 16-0 run – highlighted by a trio of triples from Jaffray in a span of 23 seconds – as the Wildcats grabbed their first lead since the first quarter at 67-66. The 16 points came in a span of 2:14 and was capped by a driving layup by Jaffray.

The Blue Jays – who advanced to the GNAC Finals last season – responded with a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 74-67. Freshman Isabella Suero – who scored a career-high 39 in the regular season finale on Saturday – then canned a step back jumper with 2:35 remaining to bring the Wildcats to within five (74-69) – but five-straight points from graduate student Jordan Ouellette pushed the USJ lead to 10 with 2:31 remaining. A basket form Jaffray on the ensuing possession made it 79-71, which was as close as the home team would get the rest of the way.

Ouellette finished with a double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds) for the Blue Jays, who received a team-high 26 from both graduate student Taylor Verboven and senior Maya Slisz. They shot 52 percent and held a 42-41 edge on the glass; junior Mikalya Caruso paced the Wildcats with 13 boards. JWU, meanwhile, shot 37 percent and went 8-of-23 from three-point land compared to 3-of-8 for USJ.