JARMOLINSKI, SCREAMING EAGLES TOP EXPRESS

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Sabrina Jarmolinski scored a game high 33-points and the College of St. Elizabeth battled back from a first half deficit to top the Wells College Express 63-55 in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) women's basketball action Saturday afternoon in Morristown, N.J. The loss drops the Express to 6-14 (4-8 NEAC) while St. Elizabeth improves 13-6 (10-3 NEAC).

Ashley Roser (Taberg, N.Y.) finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds while teammate Jessilyn Artaho-Aki (Kappaa, Hawaii) added eight points and five assists to lead the Express.

Wells opened the second half with a 29-26 lead and would hold a four point lead (44-40) mid-way through the half. With her team trailing, Jarmolinski scored eight straight points including back-to-back triples to give St. Elizabeth a 48-44 lead, forcing Wells into a timeout with 8:38 to play.

The Express responded out of the huddle, Allison Pine (Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y.) nailed a jumper and Roser followed with two straight buckets to give Wells a slim 50-48 lead.  Just as quickly as Wells regained the lead St. Elizabeth took it away, rallying for a 7-0 run, and a 55-50 lead with under four minutes to play.

Wells followed with a free-throw to pull within four (55-51) but a trey by Cheyenne Grant extended St. Elizabeth's lead to seven as they would hold on over the final 1:35 of play to earn the victory.

Kelly O'Dell paced St. Elizabeth on the boards with a team high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points, while Grant chipped in from the floor with nine points.

Both teams battle back and forth in the first half. St. Elizabeth grabbed an early 9-5 lead on seven straight points from Jarmonlinski. The Express battled back to knot things up at 11-11 and, with 12 minutes remaining in the first, neither team would be able to gain more than a four point advantage. Late in the half, a jumper by Roser tied the game at 26-26, and with 43-seconds remaining, two free-throws by Roser and a final second free-throw by Rachel Mattraw (Chaumont, N.Y.) gave Wells a slim 29-26 lead at the break.  

Wells held the advantage on the glass 43-35 while shooting 38.2 percent from the floor and hitting 11 of 16 from the free throw line.

St. Elizabeth finished 37.9 percent from the floor including 6-20 from behind the arc. The Screaming Eagles also finished with 15 steals while forcing 23 Wells turnovers.

The Express return to action on Tuesday when they take on Morrisville State College at 7:00 p.m. in Aurora.