Snapped! Lady Eagles Beat Old Westbury in OT to End Winless Streak

Patchogue, N.Y. - St Joseph's College (1-10, 1-1 SKY) snapped a season-long winless streak by defeating Old Westbury (4-10, 2-1 SKY) in a Skyline Conference overtime affair, 83-77.

The Panthers started the game on a 4-0 run in what looked like it was going to be another long night for the Golden Eagles but their defense turned into a brick wall. On four straight possessions, the Eagles came up with a steal or a blocked shot but their offense still could not find a rhythm until Laura Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) opened the scoring for SJC with a three-pointer. Katie McGarrell (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) hit a mid-range jumper and Christina Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) followed with three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Eagles defense continued to not give an inch as Christina Cohen put down another three followed by a Jackie Zizzo (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) jumper to put the Panthers in an 11-point hole.

Old Westbury had cut the lead to six when Danielle Hamlin (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) hit from behind the arc to extend the lead once again. Both teams went into a scoring drought as five minutes were left on the first half clock. The Panthers cut the deficit down to six once again but Hamlin refused to let them back into the game as she hit two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. After conceding a basket on the other end, Laura Cohen pulled up and put down another shot from behind the arc. McGarrell and the reigning Skyline Conference Player of the Week, Deandra Scott, traded three baskets each as the half came to a close with the Golden Eagles leading 41-32.

The Panthers kept trying to claw their way back into the game but three different Eagles hit from behind the three-point line in the first few minutes of the half yet it still wasn't enough to keep the Panthers down. Following a Jackie Zizzo three, the Eagles led by ten but Old Westbury would go to the line on consecutive possessions, where they made all four free-throws. Scott started to prove why she is a three-time player of the week this season, as she put down two straight shots to bring her team within two. Hamlin kick-started the Eagles offense that had went into a five minute slump. She put the Eagles up four, and Laura Cohen hit two long range shots to extend the lead to seven but the Panthers would not lie down as a two-point jumper by Raven Pentz with her foot on the line sent the game into overtime.

Laura Cohen entered the overtime period with every intention of celebrating her birthday with a win, and she came through. Cohen scored the Eagles' first seven points of overtime and hit two free-throws to put the game away with just thirteen seconds remaining. As the buzzer sounded, the Lady Eagles glanced at the scoreboard at an unfamiliar sight that they hope to see more of in the near future, SJC had outscored their opponent for the first time this season as they improve to 1-1 in the Skyline Conference.

Laura Cohen led all scorers for SJC with a career-high 30 points on 11-for-22 from the field including five three-point field goals.  She also tallied nine rebounds and seven assists.

All five starters reached double figures for St Joseph's. Hamlin scored 18 with seven rebounds, four blocked shots, five steals and nine assists.  McGarrell had a team-high 13 boards along with 10 points and six steals. Christina Cohen added 15 points and Zizzo chipped in with 10.

For Old Westbury, DeAndrea Scott led the way with 24 points and 17 boards.

Up next for the Eagles is Mount St. Mary in another Skyline game on the road Saturday.