CLAREMONT, CA – Saint Joseph's (6-4) fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-1), 72-50, in the Monks' first of two games during a California trip on Friday afternoon. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) led the Royal Blue with 10 points and added five boards in the losing effort.
For the Athenas, Frannie Hemmelgarn registered a double-double with 19 points and 12 caroms, both game-highs, in what was her team's eighth consecutive victory. Jennifer Ringoen added 18 points and eight rebounds and Aria Krumwiede contributed with 15 points for the hosts.
For the Monks, Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) netted nine points and Abby Young '14 (North Yarmouth, ME) added seven points and five boards. Theresa Hendrix '14 (Portland, ME/Cheverus), a mid-year transfer from Nyack College, tallied four points in her first collegiate action.
The Athenas netted the game's first five points and led 7-3 after Ringoen hit a jumper for the Athenas 3:20 into the contest, but Saint Joseph's charged back with a bucket from Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) and a McDevitt trey to secure an 8-7 lead less than a minute later.
Neither team held an advantage of more than two points until Taylon Johnson hit a jumpshot for CMS to lift the hosts to a 16-12 lead with 8:33 remaining in the opening half. The Athenas' lead would swell to eight points, 24-16, when Hemmelgarn connected for two at the 5:36 mark.
Amelia Lamb '12 (Topsham, ME) and Drake proceeded to connect on two sets of free throws and Young drained a trifecta with 4:24 left in the first half to cut the Monks' deficit to 26-23, but CMS closed out the first stanza with a 9-0 run and carried a 35-23 cushion into intermission.
Saint Joseph's shot 25% (6-24) from the field, 33.3% (3-9) from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 8-8 from the FT line, while the Athenas shot 53.6% (15-28) overall, 50% (1-2) from three-point distance and 66.7% (4-6) from the charity stripe in the first half.
Hemmelgarn led all scorers with 15 points in the opening period. Young netted five points in the first 20 minutes to pace the Monks.
In the second half, the Athenas' double-digit lead stood until St. Joe's mustered a 6-0 run with some help from the Monks' latest edition. Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) made both free throw attempts to cut the SJC deficit to 48-37 with 14:10 remaining before Hendrix closed the gap to seven points with two baskets, the latter coming after she pilfered a loose ball, in just 19 seconds.
Saint Joseph's was able to keep Claremont-Mudd-Scripps within striking distance for the next six minutes, a span during which the Monks trailed by 11 points or fewer. A McDevitt jumpshot made it an eight-point game, 56-48, with 6:29 on the clock, but St. Joe's shot 1-9 from the floor during the remainder of the contest and was outscored by a 16-2 margin over the final six minutes of play.
An excellent effort from the charity stripe was spoiled in the loss, which put an end to the Monks' four-game win streak. St. Joe's shot a blistering 87.5% (14-16) from the line, the highest mark since the Monks shot 90.9% (20-22) against Suffolk on January 19th, 2009, in a losing effort.
The Monks shot 32.7% (16-49) overall and 26.7% (4-15) from three-point range, while CMS shot an even 50% (29-58) from the floor and three-point distance (3-6) and notched a 78.6% (11-14) effort from the FT line.
The Athenas held a 39-25 advantage on the glass and registered 24 points in the paint on the way to victory. CMS also scored 22 points off the Monks' 16 turnovers on the afternoon.
Saint Joseph's will play at Pomona-Pitzer on Monday at 2:00 PM EST before returning to New England.