ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE – ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT: SPORTS PRESS RELEASE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2006

ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE LADY BEARS TOP MOUNT ST. VINCENT, 71 - 59 TO CAPTURE HUDSON VALLEY CONFERENCE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The St. Joseph’s College Lady Bears won their 3rd Hudson Valley Conference title in the past 5 years this past Sunday, breaking open a tight game with just under 9 minutes remaining in the contest and held on for a thrilling 71 - 59 victory. Leading by one point with 8:49 remaining in the 2nd half, the Lady Bears went on an 11 – 0 run, sparked by the superb clutch play of Michelle Softy, who scored 10 of her game high 26 points during the deciding stretch and was named the tournament’s MVP for her efforts. It proved to be quite a weekend for Softy, who tallied 27 points the previous evening in a semi-final victory over Marymount College to eclipse the 1,500 point plateau in her illustrious career.

St. Joe’s got off to a slow start and couldn’t seem to get any offensive rhythm going, as the Dolphins held as much as a 7 point lead throughout most of the first half before the Lady Bears closed the gap to one just before intermission. Annamarie Ciorciari (15 points) and Melissa Velez (12 points / 4 assists) came off the bench and provided steady play on both ends of the court to keep St. Joe’s in the contest and helped stem the tide from turning in Mt. St. Vincent’s favor.

Despite early foul trouble and the Dolphins hitting 19 – 22 from the charity stripe, the Lady Bears managed to chip away at the MSV lead and appeared in position to make a run. When Junior All-American guard Lynette Reyes (10 points / 9 rebounds) nailed a 3 pointer to start the 2nd half, St. Joe’s showed they were ready to take control of the game. “While we have experienced such great success in the past few years, the HVWAC championship game has been a nightmare for us of late,” said Coach Frank Carbone, who’s Lady Bears had dropped the past two finals by two points to Mt. St. Vincent in ’04-’05 and by a single point to Purchase College in ’03-’04. “Our girls were tremendously focused today and played with such passion and hunger – it seemed like we got every loose ball in the 2nd half,” added Carbone, who achieved his 150th career win in the process. “That was one of the real keys to the victory !” The Lady Bears (18-10) have been the dominant force in the Hudson Valley Conference over the past few years, recording 5 consecutive undefeated regular season titles, to go along with their 3 championships. In fact, St. Joe’s owns an impressive 38 game regular season winning streak against conference opponents, dating back to January, 2001. However, after winning two straight titles from 2001 – 2003, they were upset in the next two years in the final game. Those losses were quite painful to deal with and stuck with the veterans, particularly Softy. “We have worked so hard this season and have overcome so many obstacles to achieve this goal – we all really wanted this win very badly !”, exclaimed a jubilant Softy.

The Lady Bears have been led throughout the season by the 1-2 punch of Softy and Lynette Reyes, who combined to average 29 points per game on the season, and both contributed mightily in the championship victory. “When Michelle and I both play well, our team is tough to beat,” added Reyes, “but make no doubt about it, we were all ready for this game – the entire team earned this prize !” As it turned out, Reyes words rang true, as all 11 Lady Bears appeared in both the semi-final and championship games, providing the much needed depth and versatility which allowed them to eventually wear out their opponents. In fact, St. Joe’s outscored Marymount by 17 and Mt. St. Vincent by 13 in the second half after trailing both contests heading into the lockerroom.

St. Joe’s, by virtue of the big win, will now expect to be quite busy in the next three weeks as they anticipate their post-season to continue well into March. Up next is their first-ever appearance in the National Association of NCAA D3 Independent’s Regional Tournament, which will be held in Standish, Maine over the weekend of February 25th and 26th. After that, the Lady Bears are anxiously awaiting a call from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association to receive word on their potential 6th consecutive appearance in their National Championship Tournament, which will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning on March 8th. “While we are really happy with this trophy,” added sophomore standout guard Annamarie Ciorciari, “our real goal is to win a National Championship !” I guess we’ll have to stayed tuned and see what else the Lady Bears can accomplish this season…there’s still plenty of hoops to play!!!