International Flavor, Returning Players Give Hope for Brooklyn’s St. Joseph’s Women’s Basketball Program: 2025-26 Preview

Last season, St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn-Division III) Women’s basketball program, who posted a 9-15 overall record and went 8-12 in Skyline Conference action, had two internationally born players on its roster: 5-foot-2 guard Domenika Sanchez (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and 5-foot-5 sophomore guard Jasmine Chan-Clayton (Melbourne, Australia).

This upcoming campaign, the Bears will feature three more players — 5-foot-11 forward Emma Centrella (Varese, Italy), 5-foot-6 junior shooting guard Avril Lara (Ecuador) and point guard Judith Vila (Spain) — from around the world.

Add in a bunch of skilled American-born players, several of which are locals, and head coach Joe Giacchi believes St. Joseph’s will be a “very competitive” squad.

That is not a stretch considering the Bears missed the playoffs by just one game.

Going into the season, St. Joe’s has 14 women on its team, compared to nine after injuries and other factors ruled them out midway through last campaign. It ultimately hurt the squad, Giacchi noted.

“The kids were playing a ton of minutes toward the end of the game, and they were running out of gas,” Giacchi explained. “I think we lost a lot of games because of that.”

However, after two arduous seasons, Giacchi feels the Bears have built themselves to being a winner and are chomping at the bit prove people wrong.

“I think we’re ready to win,” he said. “I think the rebuilding is over. I hope to surprise the whole league. I think we’re good enough to make the playoffs, and make a run, “We have the potential to be very, very good.”

One key player back from injury is Mercedes Perez, a 5-foot-7 junior guard from San Antonio, Texas, who averaged 16.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in 16 games last year.

“She was the leading rebounder and scorer (last year),” Giacchi said of his standout hooper who missed eight contests in 2024-25. “It’s good to have her back.”

Next, Kristin Donovan, a 5-foot-4 guard from Queens, proved herself from behind the arc, making .328 percentage of her three-point attempts while averaging 13.0 points per game for St, Joe’s last year.

“Kristin Donovon is one of the best three points shooters in the country,” Giacchi gushed over the former Archbishop Molloy High School standout.

A rebounding force, 5-foot-10 sophomore Nikki Grech broke the Bears’ single-game record for boards with 30. She also averaged 10.1 points per contest.

Brooklyn-born senior Aaniya Telford is back and healthy, showing more aggressiveness in practices so far, after two knee surgeries, Giacchi noted.

As mentioned earlier, Chan-Clayton has returned for another go, averaging 7.0 points per game, as well as Sanchez, who averaged 6.2 points per tilt in 2024-25.

“She’s a really, really good three-point shooter, with a quick release,” Giacchi said of Chan-Clayton. “We’re happy to have her.”

As for Sanchez, “she took over a lot of the point guard duties,” the third-year coach said. “She came back in great shape. We’re relying on her to that big step forward. She’ll be a big part of our success.”

Returning players aside, Giacchi is excited over his new St. Joe’s players, including Tyrah Mack, a 6-foot-4 freshman center from Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut.

“She’ll be a great fit,” he said. “She can block shots, alter shots. Can rebound, and push people around.”

Then there is freshman Jizelle Velasquez, a quality defender who played at powerhouse Christ the King High School in Middle Village, Queens.

“She defends really, really well,” Giacchi emphasized. “Her on-the-ball defense is great. That’s what stood out to me. I think this (Bears basketball) is a good fit for her.”

The first of three incoming international players, Centrella is a promising hooper who transferred from Northeast Community College in Nebraska and dropped in 56 points in 23 games for the Hawks last campaign.

“Emma is strong, with a nice middle-jumper,” Giacchi said of her basketball skills. “She’ll speed us up, and she rebounds well. We have really, really high hopes for her. I think she’ll be a breakout player.”

Additionally, Vila, another player outside the United States, and a Raritan Valley Community College (N.J.) transfer, is a 5-foot-6 junior who averaged 5.4 points and 1.8 boards in 28 tilts last season. Giacchi said her college basketball experience will come in handy, as well as her overall hardwood abilities.

“She shoots the ball pretty well,” he said. “She has college experience. She defends, handles the ball really well, and she sets the pace, which will help us tremendously.”

Finally, Lara, who hails from South America, has spent several years in the US, suiting up for York University in Nebraska in 2024-25, and attended Coral Glades and Western High Schools in Florida.

“She gives us nice depth at the guard position,” Giacchi said of Lara. “She was teammates with Domenika in Ecuador. That’s how she came to us.”

Rounding out the team is 5-foot-10 sophomore Gabriella Cinque, who played hoops at Tottenville High School on Staten Island. She appeared in 14 games and averaged 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last campaign.

“She’s good around the basket,” Giacchi said. “(She) gave us some good minutes (last year). She’ll be a good for us this year.”

Giacchi hopes the program’s unknown potential headed into the 2025-26 year will work in the Bears’ favor.

“Nobody really knows about us until we roll into the gym,” he believes. “They’re going to be surprised. I think if everything goes the way I plan, we’ll surprise a lot of people.”

St. Joe’s opens up the 2025-26 season at home on Saturday, November 8th, against Medgar Evers.

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— Jerry Del Priore