STANDISH, ME - Rivier College (12-3, 3-0 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (7-7, 1-1 GNAC), 61-56, in a conference women's basketball game at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) scored 12 to lead the Monks in the losing effort.

Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) notched 11 points and 6 boards for the Royal Blue, while Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley), who was honored during a halftime ceremony for reaching the 1,000-point plateau, and Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) both netted 9 points.

Lauren Brett '13 (Otisfield, ME), who was 3-5 from beyond the arc, paced the Raiders with 13 points, while Jess Mellen '10 (Rockland, MA) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Mackenzie Brooks '13 (Colebrook, NH) chipped in with 11 points for the visitors. Rivier has now won eight straight, and 10 of its last 11, games.

The game between the conference rivals was evenly matched, as the teams traded the lead 9 times and the score was tied on 12 occasions. The Monks led, 30-27, at the break and maintained a lead for the first 13 minutes of the second stanza, but a 9-2 run, which comprised of a trio of treys, including two from Brett, provided the Raiders with the lead for good. Rivier maintained at least a two-point lead for the rest of the contest, as the Monks went 0-9 from the field and 5-10 from the line in the final six minutes of play.

The teams essentially traded punches for the first 14 minutes of the opening half, as Rivier held a slim 21-20 lead after Brett drained a pair of free throws at the 6:12 mark. The Monks proceeded to build their largest cushion of the game, as the hosts posted a 7-0 surge in the subsequent three minutes and led 27-21 after Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) made a bucket with 4:46 to go in the first half.

The Raiders quickly gained the lead in the second stanza, as Mellen scored four unanswered points off a field goal and two freebies to put her team up, 31-30, 1:41 into the later half. St. Joe's responded by rattling off seven straight points, capped by a Daigle basket at the 15:41 mark, to rebuild the six-point advantage and held at least a share of the lead for the next eight minutes, after which Rivier utilized a trio of trifectas to secure the lead, as it turned out, for the duration.

St. Joe's shot 38.2% (21-55) from the floor, 23.1% (3-13) from three-point distance, and 57.9% (11-19) from the line, while Rivier made 35.1% (20-57) of its bids from the field, 36.8% (7-19) from beyond the arc and 70% (14-20) from the charity stripe. The Raiders held a 42-35 advantage on the glass, while the Monks registered 16 assists on 21 field goals in the loss.

Both teams are set to play GNAC opponents on Monday, as Saint Joseph's will play at Johnson & Wales University at 3:00 PM, while Rivier will travel to Emmanuel for a 1:00 PM tip-off.

Newspaper Box Score
Rivier College vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
1/16/10 1:00pm at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
RIVIER COLLEGE RAIDE 61, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 56
RIVIER COLLEGE RAIDE (12-3 (3-0 GNAC))
Lauren Brett 3-8 4-4 13; Mackenzie Brooks 4-11 3-6 11; Jess Mellen 4-6 2-3
10; Monica White 2-9 2-2 8; Steph Adams 4-7 0-0 8; Amandra Purcell 2-6 1-3
7; Ashley Metivier 1-9 2-2 4; Sarah Howard 0-1 0-0 0; Kelsy LaRose 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 20-57 14-20 61.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (7-7 (1-1 GNAC))
Allie Parent 5-9 2-7 12; Ashley Geel 4-8 3-4 11; Carolyn Freeman 3-11 1-2 9;
Megan McDevitt 3-8 2-2 9; Meghan Daigle 3-7 2-2 8; Casey Drake 2-8 1-2 5;
Allison Miner 1-3 0-0 2; Danyelle Shufelt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 11-19 56.
Rivier College Raide..........   27   34  -   61
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   30   26  -   56
3-point goals--Rivier College Raide 7-19 (Lauren Brett 3-5; Monica White
2-5; Amandra Purcell 2-6; Ashley Metivier 0-3), St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-13
(Carolyn Freeman 2-6; Megan McDevitt 1-4; Danyelle Shufelt 0-1; Allie Parent
0-2). Fouled out--Rivier College Raide-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None.
Rebounds--Rivier College Raide 42 (Jess Mellen 12), St. Joseph's (Me.) 35
(Meghan Daigle 6; Ashley Geel 6; Carolyn Freeman 6). Assists--Rivier College
Raide 12 (Monica White 4), St. Joseph's (Me.) 16 (Casey Drake 6). Total
fouls--Rivier College Raide 14, St. Joseph's (Me.) 14. Technical
fouls--Rivier College Raide-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-272