Eagles Fall to Panthers in Final Conference Game of Season

Purchase, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's Lady Eagles (3-21, 3-11 Skyline) fell behind in the first half and couldn't recover against the Purchase Panthers (16-9, 10-4 Skyline) who defeated the Eagles, 77-44, on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles got off to a fast start with a quick three-pointer by this season's leading scorer Danielle Hamlin (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) but the Panthers scored 10 unanswered points while SJC had missed six straight shots. Laura Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) ended the scoring drought with a jumper and followed it up with a three on the next possession. After forcing a turnover, Christina Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) drilled a three-pointer to give the Eagles an 11-10 lead then on the next possession, she hit another three to extend the lead to four. Laura Cohen capitalized on another Panthers turnover with a fast-break layup and after the Panthers finally found the net again, Jackie Zizzo (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) hit a shot from beyond-the-arc to cap off a 17-2 run for the Lady Eagles with 11:36 remaining in the half.

Turnovers and fouls plagued the Eagles for the next four minutes enabling Purchase to go on a 13-0 run and take a 25-19 lead. Laura Cohen once again ended the drought but only temporarily as the Panthers continued their offensive assault. The Eagles only had four points on two baskets following their 17-2 run and the Panthers 34-4 run would prove too large to overcome as they entered half-time trailing 46-23. In the second half, the Lady Eagles shot just 5-of-26 from the field as the Panthers rubbed salt in the Eagles' wounds in the second half on their way to a 33-point victory.

The Eagles were led by Zizzo who had 13 points and Hamlin finished with 9 points and 15 rebounds. Jazmin Garcia had 39 points, eight rebounds, and five steals for the Panthers.

The Lady Eagles conclude their season against Medgar Evers this Tuesday night on the road.