WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Despite leading 36 minutes of play, the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team fell 65-59 to a late rally in the final three and a half minutes by the University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) Blue Jays in their season opener on the road. The Wolves fell to 0-1, while USJ moved to 1-0 on Friday.
WestConn drew first blood with a three-point jumper by sophomore
Janaya Prince Baquero (Cranston, R.I.) off a defensive rebound and an assist from teammate
Graci Hawkins (East Hartford, Conn.). The visitors continued to rack up points in the first quarter, taking a 16-7 lead. The Wolves kept raining down buckets, including a jumper in the paint by
Kenzi DeJesus (Middle Village, N.Y.) for the team's largest lead, 14, to give them a 32-18 advantage with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. In the first two quarters, WestConn converted 10 points off turnovers, including a game-high of eight in the second. The Wolves also had a game-high 10 second-chance points in the second for a 34-21 lead going into the locker room.
USJ started to chip away at the lead in the third and got it to single digits, but a three-pointer by Hawkins and a free throw by DeJesus put the Wolves back up by 12 at 4:09. In the final three and a half minutes, the Blue Jays went on a 19-2 scoring stretch for their first lead of the game at 61-56 with 1:52 left on the clock. A jumper by Prince Baquero shortened the gap to three, but the hosts won the battle of back-and-forth free throws and made three of their six attempts.
WestConn opens at home against Nichols College on November 11 with a 5 p.m. tip-off in the William O'Neill Center.
