Lady Eagles’ Late Rally Falls Short Against New Rochelle

New Rochelle, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (1-15) have been playing much better as of late but their efforts fell short on Monday night as they were defeated by the College of New Rochelle Blue Angels (11-7), 88-81.

The Eagles jumped out to their best start of the season with eight unanswered points. New Rochelle had finally got on the board with two quick scores when Laura Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) and Christina Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) fired up back-to-back three pointers to put the Eagles up 14-4. Danielle Hamlin (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) hit a three on the next offensive possession that put the Angels down 17-6 and left them feeling blue but the Blue Angels came battling back with a 13-0 run to give them a two-point advantage. The lead didn't last very long as Christina Cohen hit a three, forced a turnover and hit a layup to put the Eagles up three. With five minutes remaining in the half Hamlin took over the game, scoring 12 of her 17 first half points during that stretch to go along with her six rebounds leading the Golden Eagles into halftime, 39-30.

The Eagles maintained their lead for the first few minutes of the second half but at the 12:59 mark of the half, the Blue Angels found their way back into the game and tied it up at 51. After Christina Cohen put the Lady Eagles back in front with two free throws, New Rochelle scored nine unanswered points. The Blue Angels extended the lead to as many as 15 but the resilient Eagles came battling back. Christina Cohen hit a three to cut the deficit to 12, then she was fouled on the next possession and converted both free throws. Laura Cohen hit a layup on the next offensive possession and Christina followed it up with a layup of her own and, just like that, the Lady Eagles were on a 9-0 run, down only six. New Rochelle fired back with two baskets of their own and with just two minutes remaining, the Eagles could not find a way to get a stop on the final possessions.

Christina Cohen had an outstanding game with 32 points, six steals, three rebounds, and three assists. Hamlin struggled in the second half with just one point but finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and two steals and Laura Cohen turned in 21 points, six assists and two steals.

Jasmine Brandon led all scorers with 35 points and brought down 10 boards for the Blue Angels while Jah-Leah Ellis put up 32 points, 22 rebounds, and five assists.

The Eagles will play at NYU-Polytechnic this Thursday night in a Skyline game at 7:00 p.m.