Raiders fall to Saint Joseph's 80-75
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rivier (11-13, 7-4 GNAC) | 36 | 39 | 75 |
|
St. Joseph (Conn.) (9-16, 4-7 GNAC) | 39 | 41 | 80 |
(West Hartford, Conn.) The Rivier Women's Basketball team fell on the road this evening to Saint Joseph's College (Conn.) by the score of 80-75. With the loss, the Raiders drop to 11-13 (7-4 GNAC). With the win, the Blue Jays improve their record to 9-16 (4-7 GNAC).
USJ got off to a quick start after the Senior Day ceremony and after DeJesus hit consecutive threes, the Blue Jays led 15-4 after 4:32. Another DeJesus three-pointer later in the half gave USJ its biggest lead of the day at 32-16 with 6:47 left in the half. But Perry had eight points for Rivier as the Raiders closed the half on a 20-7 run to pull within 39-36 at halftime.
Rivier took its first lead of the game at 46-45 on a layup from Caitlin Bulger (Quincy, Mass.) with 16:16 left and got its biggest lead with 15:01 remaining after a jumper from DeBaldo made it 51-45 with 15:01 left. The Blue Jays came back and regained the lead at 55-53 on a Feducia three-pointer with 10:35 remaining. The Blue Jays extended their lead as it reached eight at 62-54 on two free throws by Ferraro with 7:24 left and again at 72-64 after a DeJesus free throw with 1:58 to play.
Rivier scratched its way back in and cut its deficit to 78-75 on a Butterfield three-pointer with nine seconds left. But a free throw from Carlee Putnam (Niantic, Conn.) with seven seconds left and another from Ferraro with five ticks left kept it a two-possession game and provided for the final margin.
Rivier had good performances turned in by Caitlyn Perry (Nashua, N.H.) who scored 21 points to lead the Raiders. Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) had a huge double-double for the Raiders with 19 points and 15 rebounds while adding five assists. Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) had 17 points and nine rebounds and Rebecca DeBaldo (Pelhham, N.H.) had nine points and eight rebounds.
The Rivier Women's Basketball team will next play on the road at Suffolk University in the Quarterfinals of the GNAC tournament. This game is scheduled for February 24th at 7:00pm. Saint Joseph's has finished their season and will not participate in the GNAC tournament.