BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The 2023-24 season for the St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) women's basketball team came to a close on Saturday afternoon, falling 78-62 to Mount Saint Mary College at The Hill Center.

In her final collegiate game, Destiny Hurt (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) dropped a season-best 30 points to lead all scorers and a trio of Bears in double figures. Mercedes Perez (San Antonio, Texas/William Howard Taft) and Kristen Donovan (Maspeth, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively. 

How it Happened

The first quarter saw little separation as a pair of Donovan free throws bring the Bears to within one, 13-12, with 4:13 remaining. The Knights ended the quarter on a 10-0 run to hold a 23-12 lead.

MSMC saw the margin grow to a many as 15 in the second quarter, 33-18, before possessing a 37-24 advantage. Hurt was responsible for half of the Bears' scoring output in the opening 20 minutes.

An early 8-0 spurt in the third saw the Bears reduce their deficit to seven, 39-32. However, the visitors outscored SJBK 22-5 in the remaining 7:22 to see their lead grow to 61-37. The Knights shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the stretch.

Perez erupted for 14 points in the Bears' 25-point fourth quarter, going 6-of-8 from the floor. Mount Saint Mary saw their largest lead of the afternoon with three minutes left in regulation, 76-50. The Bears scored 11 of the final 13 points in the contest, resulting in a 78-62 final score.

For the Bears

• Hurt concludes her Division III career with 1,150 points, 782 of which coming as a Bear. On the afternoon, she also totaled four rebounds.

• Perez logged seven rebounds and five steals to go with her 16 points.

• Donovan had five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

• Grace Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) had six rebounds.

• The Bears conclude the season with marks of 5-20 overall and 4-16 in Skyline Conference play.