BOSTON, MA - Saint Joseph's (7-5, 1-0 GNAC) defeated Emmanuel College (8-3, 0-1 GNAC), 60-47, in the 2010 GNAC women's basketball opener for both teams on Thursday evening. Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) made five three-pointers and tallied a game-high 19 points in the win over the Saints, who are ranked 23rd in the country in the latest D3Hoops.com poll.
Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) tallied 11 points and 7 boards and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) registered 10 points, 7 caroms and 5 assists in the win, which is the Monks' first over the Saints since the 1993 season.
Emmanuel opened things up scoring first on a jumper by this week's ECAC New England Player of the Week Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) to take a 2-0 lead. The two teams traded baskets until McDevitt drained a three-pointer to give the Monks a 7-6 lead. Saint Joseph's would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest.
The Monks pushed the margin to 12-8 on another three-ball by McDevitt with 14:59 left to play in the half. After a free throw by Liz Brooks (Charlton, Mass.) and a jumper by Jade Santos (Plymouth, Mass.), Emmanuel went on a dry spell that lasted three minutes. After the Emmanuel the drought, the Monks managed a 21-5 run that spanned the remainder of the half.
McDevitt stuck another long-range dagger with just over two minutes left to play in the half to bring the score to 32-16. A free throw by Parent and a jumper by Casey Drake (Lebanon, N.H.) bumped the spread to 35-16 and Saint Joseph's took a nineteen-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Monks shot an incredible 50% in the first half, knocking down 12 of their 24 shots from the floor. Saint Joseph's was also hot from long-range, draining 4 of 7 from behind the arc in the opening period. Emmanuel's shooting was dismal in the first half, as the hosts netted just five field goals in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 17.9% (5-28) from the floor.
McDevitt led all scorers with her 9 first-half points, with all of them coming from downtown. Parent added 8 points for the visitors. Senior guard Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) led the way in the first half for the Saints with 7 points and 5 rebounds.
The Saints opened the second half with deep three-pointer by LeBel and managed to close the gap to 13 points after a fastbreak lay-up by Davis with 18 minutes left to play. The Monks maintained their solid double-figure lead and pushed the margin to as many as 20 points after back-to-back trifectas from McDevitt and a backdoor lay-up by Parent with 8:33 to go.
Emmanuel turned up the heat in the final three minutes of the game, capitalizing on the full-court pressure defense. Turnovers in the backcourt by the Monks led to fast-break baskets for the Saints and Emmanuel trailed by just 9 points (54-45) with 1:57 on the clock. The effort was too little too late, as McDevitt drained four free throws down the stretch and the Monks hung on for the 13-point win, 60-47.
As a team, the Monks shot 38.9% from the field (21-54) and 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range. Saint Joseph's out-rebounded Emmanuel, 46-43, on the night.
Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) added 8 points and 7 rebounds and Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) chipped in with 6 points and 6 assists for the Monks.
Davis led Emmanuel with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals. LeBel added 14 points and 3 assists and junior forward Pamela Mobley (Worcester, Mass.) hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds for the Saints.
The Saints will return to action on Saturday afternoon, taking on the 5th-ranked Polar Bears of Bowdoin College in a non-conference match-up in Brunswick, Maine. Saint Joseph's will play next on Sunday afternoon at Wesleyan University at 3pm.
COURTESY OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION
