FRANKLIN, Mass. – January 20, 2022 – The Dean College women's basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home game to the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), 68-16, Thursday evening in Pieri Gymnasium.

Dean goes to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the GNAC. The Bulldogs will play their third game of the week when they host Saint Joseph's (Maine) on Saturday at 3 p.m. USJ improves to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference. The Blue Jays are back in action on Monday when they host Lasell for a 6 p.m. tip.

First-year Catherine Thomas (Woodbridge, Conn.) had a game best nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Senior Sitaara Muhammad (Cambridge, Mass.) had a pair of steals and a bucket in her first action of the season. First-year Tori Andrewski's (North Sutton, N.H.) added five boards.

Junior Amanda Fudge (Middletown, Conn.) led 14 Blue Jays in the scoring column with a game-high 13 points. Senior Cheyenne-Mone Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) grabbed a team best eight rebounds to go with three blocks. Junior Alexis Perrone (Frankfort, N.Y.) was second on the team with nine points in 10 minutes off the bench.

The visitors outscored Dean 14-4 in the first quarter behind stout defense, which allowed two field goals and forced 10 turnovers.

USJ found the range in the second quarter and shot 58.8% from the field. The defense forced 10 more turnovers to help the Blue Jays take a 38-5 lead at the half.

Dean opened the second half with a 5-0 run behind a three-pointer by first-year Tori Viau (Johnston, R.I.) and a jumper by first-year Maranda Cournoyer (Millville, Mass.). USJ responded with a 6-0 run before junior Rhisma Louis-Graham (East Orange, N.J.) hit a jumper to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 advantage in third-quarter scoring. USJ finished the frame with a 9-0 spurt to take a 53-12 lead into the fourth.

The Blue Jays outscored Dean, 15-4, in the fourth quarter to account for the 68-16 final score.