NEW YORK (Interstat) — Saint Joseph’s (Brooklyn) used an early surge and a dominant first half to beat City College of New York 77-37 in a women’s NCAA Division III basketball game at Nat Holman Gymnasium. The Bears led 43-15 at halftime and pushed the margin to 65-19 after three quarters before closing out the win in front of 104 spectators. Saint Joseph’s improved to 3-0, while CCNY dropped to 0-2.

The Bears were led by Gabriella Cinque, who finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist. Emma Centrella added 14 points and 9 rebounds, Judith Vila Marti had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist, and Nikki Grech contributed 7 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Mercedes Perez scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Kayla Donovan added 8 points, Domenika Sanchez had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, and Jizelle Velazquez finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Rebekka Hjalmarsdottir also scored in the first half for Saint Joseph’s.

City College of New York was paced by Nicole Garcia with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Rayanah Sanabria had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block. Ashley Colon and Rebekah Cosbert each contributed free throws and field goals, while Kyla Rodriguez, Sara Montoya and Saniyarain Fowler also scored in the second half.

The decisive stretch came in the first half. Saint Joseph’s set the tone with layups from Perez and Centrella and free throws from Centrella early in the first quarter. Sanabria hit a 3-point jump shot for CCNY, but the Bears answered with layups from Perez, Hjalmarsdottir and Centrella, plus free throws from Vila Marti, to take control. Perez made layups at the 9:30 and 8:20 marks, Hjalmarsdottir scored at 8:08, Centrella made a layup at 7:20, and Vila Marti and Cinque combined for six free throws as the Bears built an early cushion. Saint Joseph’s kept building in the second quarter. Vila Marti hit a 3-pointer, Grech made free throws, Centrella scored inside, and Perez connected from beyond the arc to make it 36-10. Donovan hit a 3-point shot late in the half, and Hjalmarsdottir scored at the buzzer to send the Bears into halftime with a 43-15 lead.

Saint Joseph’s did not let up in the third quarter. Vila Marti opened the period with a 3-pointer, and Sanchez, Grech, Cinque, Velazquez and Donovan all scored as the Bears stretched the lead to 65-19. Cosbert made a layup for CCNY in the third, and Colon added a layup, but the Beavers could not slow the Bears. Sophia Lyder closed the third-quarter scoring with a 3-point jump shot. CCNY found more offense in the fourth quarter, getting two layups from Garcia, free throws from Colon and Fowler, a jump shot and free throw from Rodriguez, and a 3-pointer from Montoya. Garcia added a late jump shot and two free throws, but Saint Joseph’s finished with the 40-point win.

Saint Joseph’s shot 25 of 70 from the floor, 5 of 20 from 3-point range and 22 of 32 from the free-throw line. CCNY shot 11 of 56 from the floor, 2 of 18 from beyond the arc and 13 of 24 from the line. The Bears held a 15-5 edge in offensive rebounds and finished with 17 assists to CCNY’s 15. Both teams committed 23 turnovers. Saint Joseph’s scored 77 points from 93 possessions and had an offensive rating of 82.6, while CCNY scored 37 points from 85 possessions with an offensive rating of 43.3. The Bears had opened the season with wins over Medgar Evers and Pratt, while CCNY had lost its opener at Ramapo. Saint Joseph’s next scheduled game is at John Jay, and CCNY next plays at SUNY Old Westbury.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saint Joseph’s (Brooklyn) 61, City College of New York 46. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Saint Joseph’s (Brooklyn) with an 84.2 percent probability to win.