BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) women's basketball team opened the 2026 calendar year on Friday afternoon at The Hill Center, falling 70–59 to Stevens Institute of Technology.
Following an opening three-pointer from Mercedes Perez (San Antonio, Texas), the Ducks surged ahead and built a 22–12 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Bears settled in during the second quarter, matching Stevens basket for basket over the ten-minute stretch. Perez connected from deep again, Nikki Grech (Northville, Mich.) established a presence in the paint, and Kristen Donovan (Maspeth, N.Y.) also added an offensive spark in the frame as St. Joseph's trimmed what had been an 18-point deficit to 40–30 at the halftime break.
Stevens regained momentum coming out of the break, limiting SJBK to nine points in the third quarter while extending its lead to 54–39. Despite defensive stops and second-chance opportunities, the Bears were unable to close the gap heading into the final period.
The Bears delivered their strongest stretch of the night in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 20–16 and cutting Stevens' lead from 21 — its largest of the game at 60–39 — to seven, 63–56, with four minutes remaining. The surge was fueled by six forced turnovers, a 10-point outburst from Donovan, and offensive contributions from Aaniya Telford (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The Ducks, however, went 7-of-14 from the free-throw line in the final 3:50 of the contest to hold off the Bears' comeback attempt.
Donovan connected on four three-pointers as she led all players with 18 points while pulling down a team-best eight rebounds. Perez had 16 points to go with eight points and a pair of steals while Grech rounded out the trio in double figures with 11 points and six rebounds. Emma Centrella (Varese, Italy) had five boards while Domenika Sanchez (Guayaquil, Ecuador) totaled four steals.
After spending December on the road, Friday's non-conference finale opened a stretch of four home games in the Bears' next five at The Hill Center to begin 2026. St. Joseph's returns to Brooklyn on Tuesday, January 6, hosting Mount Saint Mary College at 6 p.m.
