STANDISH, ME - For the SJC women's basketball team, the 2010-11 campaign was the best season posted by the program in nearly 10 years.
Led by Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83, the Monks went 18-9 overall and posted a 9-3 record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play to earn the #3 seed in the GNAC Tournament last winter. The 2010-11 victory total was the most since Coach McDevitt, the most successful skipper in team history with a 356-138 (.721) SJC record, guided the Royal Blue to a 22-3 record in 2001. The Monks also posted a pair of important firsts in 2011 when the team hosted and won a GNAC playoff game at the Harold Alfond Center in late February.
St. Joe's also succeeded in not dropping consecutive games for the first time since 2001 and registered a five-game winning streak - the longest since the 2004-05 campaign - that ended with a loss to Suffolk University in a GNAC Tournament semifinal tilt on February 24th.
The 2010-11 season began with a game at the University of New England on November 17th and the Monks, with three first-year players logging significant minutes, fell to the Nor'easters by a 72-53 margin. Junior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) led Royal Blue with 12 points and freshman forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) contributed eight rebounds in the season-opening setback.
Saint Joseph's moved on to play in a pair of games in the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament beginning with a contest versus UMass.-Dartmouth on November 19th. The first-ever meeting between the two programs was a memorable one as the Monks tipped the Corsairs, 81-80, in double-overtime behind a 16-point effort from sophomore guard Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.). Allie Parent '12 (Camden, Maine) sank a layup with 13 seconds remaining in the second OT to propel St. Joe's to the thrilling victory.
The double-overtime game was the Monks' first 2OT tilt since the team suffered an 80-78 setback in a marathon contest against Babson College on January 6th, 2001. The OT victory was the programs first since St. Joe's defeated Saint Joseph's-Brooklyn, 64-62, on February 25th, 2006. Also of note: the Monks made 19 free throws in 28 attempts – both season-highs – in the exciting win over the Corsairs.
With the marathon victory, St. Joe's advanced to the tournament championship game the following day and would face tourney host Curry College. The game stood at a 33-33 deadlock at intermission, but the Colonels opened the second stanza on a 14-5 run and managed to hold the Monks off to capture the inaugural Curry Tip-Off Tournament title.
Geel, who garnered All-Tournament honors, netted 15 points and added six boards and Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, Maine) chipped in with nine points in the loss to Curry, a team the Monks had not faced since November 27th, 1984.
Next on the docket was a game at Gordon College on November 23rd and Saint Joseph's evened its season record at 2-2 with a convincing 73-28 triumph. Four players scored at least 10 points, including Young with a game-high 15, and the Monks held commanding advantages in points in the paint (38-14) and rebounds (42-29) on the night.
The winning margin over Gordon was the Monks' highest since St. Joe's toppled College of St. Joseph (Vt.) by 55 points on December 5th, 2008.
St. Joe's traveled University of Southern Maine five days later in the annual Costello Cup game and the Monks fell short, 70-48, at the hands of the Huskies to fall to 2-3 on the young season. Young netted 10 points and seven boards and Geel scored a team-high 11 points with five caroms in the loss.
Pieces began to fall in place after the loss to USM as the Monks proceeded to win four straight games, all against in-state opponents, and held a 6-3 record before travelling to California for a pair of games over Christmas Break.
The win streak began with a 68-49 decision over Thomas College on December 1st as Geel and McDevitt tallied 13 points apiece and Young netted 10 to help lift the Monks past the Terriers for the fourth consecutive meeting. Freshman point guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) added eight points, nine assists and five steals in the win, which saw St. Joe's improve to 53-5 (.914) all-time against Thomas.
With a team-high 13 points on December 4th, senior guard Casey Drake (Lebanon, N.H.) helped lift the Royal Blue to a 60-52 triumph over Maine Maritime in the Monks' 2010-11 home-opener. Parent chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds and freshman forward Lindsay Moore (Somersworth, N.H.) came off the bench to score 10 points that afternoon.
Up next was a game against in-state rival University of Maine-Farmington, a team that had defeated Saint Joseph's in six consecutive meetings, at the Alfond Center on December 8th. The Monks made short work out of the visiting Beavers on this night as the hosts led wire to wire and rolled to a 62-32 victory with the help of 35 bench points. Young came off the pine to net a game-high 13 points while fellow sub Alyssa Grigware '13 (Biddeford, Maine) chipped in with 10 points in the lopsided triumph.
For the Monks, the 30-point winning margin was the highest over UMF since the Royal Blue defeated the Beavers by 38 points (113-75) on December 2nd, 1991.
St. Joe's capped its winning streak at four when the team hosted Husson University, an eventual 2011 NCAA Tournament qualifier, on December 11th. In a game that featured eight lead changes and seven tie scores, the Monks came out on top, 47-46, thanks largely to a spectacular 17-20 (85%) effort from the free throw line. Geel enjoyed a fine outing with 10 points, 12 boards and five blocked shots - including a pivotal swat with two seconds remaining - and Young registered nine points and eight rebounds that afternoon.
In many ways the win over the Eagles, who had defeated the Monks by 25 points the prior season, was evidence of how much the team had improved in just one year. Also of note, the team's 47 points is tied for second-fewest points (St. Joe's defeated Maine-Presque Isle, 47-45 on February 19th, 2005) the Monks have ever scored in a victory. The fewest points St. Joe's has scored in a win came in a 40-36 victory over Johnson State on January 17th, 1998.
The Monks' winning ways hit a wall on December 31st when the Royal Blue suffered a 72-50 setback at the hands of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps during the team's California trip. Geel registered 10 points and five caroms in the loss.
St. Joe's salvaged the west-coast swing three days later with a 58-48 decision over Pomona-Pitzer as McDevitt made four three-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points. Young tallied eight points and along with a career-high 11 boards while Moore contributed 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
After 10 days in sunny California the Monks returned to New England and hosted non-conference foe Wesleyan College on January 9th. The 2011 home-opener proved to be one of the Monks' most exciting games of the year as the Royal Blue, who suffered a 62-61 setback to the Cardinals last winter, clinched a 55-54 win on this day with the help of a closing-seconds three-pointer made by McDevitt. Geel led all scorers with 16 points and Parent contributed 11 points, five boards, four dimes and a pair of steals in the one-point triumph.
The 2010-11 conference opener was on deck for the Monks as the team traveled to Suffolk University on January 13th. The Rams jumped out to a 14-2 lead after four minutes of play and Saint Joseph's - despite several runs of their own – would not compensate for the slow start and suffered a 66-60 setback as a result. Parent paced the Royal Blue with 12 points in the losing effort.
Geel almost singlehandedly lifted the Monks to a thrilling 65-64 win over GNAC-rival Rivier College two days later when the junior center netted a career-high 20 points with eight rebounds and made the game-winning free throw with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Saint Joseph's made it two conference wins in a row with a one-sided 70-44 victory over Johnson & Wales at the Alfond on January 17th. Moore, one of four SJC players to score at least 10 points, notched her first NCAA double-double with 11 points and 10 boards and McDevitt drained a quartet of trifectas to account for 12 points on the afternoon. The Monks scored 45 points - a season-high - in the first half and also grabbed a season-best 51 rebounds in the win over the Wildcats.
The Monks improved to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in GNAC play with the convincing win over Johnson & Wales.
Bates College came to town for a non-conference tilt on January 19th and handed Saint Joseph's a 66-52 loss. Although the teams played even in the second stanza, the Monks scored just 13 first-half points and would not overcome the sluggish start. Geel scored 15 points off a 7-9 effort from the floor and Young contributed 14 in the setback.
For SJC, the 13 first-half scoring output was the fewest scored in a half the entire season and the least points scored in a half since the team tallied 12 points versus USM on February 16th, 2006.
Three days later, the Monks hosted Simmons College in a conference contest and recorded a 75-56 win to improve to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in GNAC play. McDevitt drilled a career-high six three-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points while Geel produced 13 points and six caroms in the conference victory.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to tackle Albertus Magnus by an 85-57 margin in a GNAC contest at the Alfond on January 29th. Five SJC players registered at least 10 points in the win, which was the 350th victory of Coach McDevitt's SJC women's basketball career. It was only fitting that Megan McDevitt would lead all scorers with 18 points that afternoon while teammates Parent, Young, Shufelt and Moore also put up double-digit point totals against the Falcons. Also, the Monks set season-highs in points, field goals made (34), and field goal attempts (73) in the win that afternoon.
Emmanuel College was next on the slate for the Royal Blue and the Monks, despite falling by an 83-76 margin, held their own against the 15-time GNAC champions at the Alfond Center on January 31st. Trailing by 10 or more points for the majority of the action, St. Joe's mounted a relentless comeback bid and closed the gap to three points in the closing minutes, but the Saints held off the hosts with several key freebies down the stretch to avenge a 60-47 loss to Saint Joseph's last winter.
The Monks featured a balanced scoring attack yet again as five players reached double digits for the second consecutive game. Geel led the way with 15 points and Young recorded the first double-double of her career with 14 points and 10 caroms in the loss to Emmanuel.
St. Joe's faced off against Norwich University on February 5th and made the trip to Vermont worthwhile with the program's first victory over the Cadets - a 68-59 triumph - since the 2002-03 campaign. Geel enjoyed another fine outing with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks and McDevitt made five trifectas to account for 15 points in the conference win.
Five days later the Monks traveled to West Hartford, Connecticut for a GNAC game versus Saint Joseph (CT) and suffered a 62-49 loss to fall to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in conference play. St. Joe's shot just 11.1% (2-18) from downtown and got to the line only 10 times, with five conversions, in the loss, which was the Monks' first to the Blue Jays in four meetings.
The conference setback may have propelled the Royal Blue to play better, however, as the Monks rattled off five consecutive wins - four conference victories and a GNAC Tournament triumph - before concluding the season with a loss in the conference tournament semifinal round.
The Monks' first victim during the streak was Lasell College in a home game on February 12th. The GNAC contest was never close as the hosts outscored the Lasers by a 38-9 margin in the first half en route to a 71-21 victory. Grigware came off the bench to score a game-and-career- high 14 points for St. Joe's.
Lasell's 21 points was the fewest the Royal Blue had allowed since posting an 82-18 win over Maine-Fort Kent on December 3rd, 2000.
Saint Joseph's hosted Emerson College three days later in another GNAC matchup and outscored the Lions by a 38-24 margin in the paint on the way to a 61-51 win. Geel continued to play well and scored a game-high 17 points and Dufour tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and seven steals in the conference win.
The Monks then hit the road where the team continued its winning ways with an 85-43 victory over Pine Manor College on February 17th. McDevitt went 5-7 from beyond the arc and scored a game-high 19 points while Young added 13 points and six boards and Moore tallied 15 points and six rebounds.
Saint Joseph's made 17 of 18 freebie attempts in the win over the Gators to account for a season-best 94.4% success rate from the charity stripe.
St. Joe's went on to close out the regular season with a 66-62 win over Mount Ida College at the Alfond Center on February 19th. Geel led all scorers with a career-high 26 points and added eight boards and four rejections in the triumph, which secured the #3 seed in the GNAC Tournament for Saint Joseph's.
Geel also became the Monks' all-time leader in blocked shots in the win over the Mustangs as she surpassed Abbie Rice '04, who swatted 146 shots in 103 career games, for the blocks crown. Geel overtook the former SJC blocks leader in the 74th contest of her career.
With the regular season over and the Monks owning the #3 seed, the table was set for the Royal Blue to host the program's first conference tournament game in four years as a GNAC member.
Saint Joseph's would face Emerson College, which collected the #6 seed after notching a 7-5 record in conference play, in a GNAC tourney quarterfinal tilt at the Alfond Center on February 22nd. The Monks left little doubt as to which team would advance to the following round as the hosts outscored the Lions by a 44-16 margin in the first half and rolled to a 69-48 tourney win behind a season-best 51.9% (27-52) shooting effort from the floor. Geel and Parent paced the Royal Blue with 12 points apiece while Young tallied eight points and eight boards and Moore recorded eight points and six caroms on the night.
With the victory the team advanced to play at #2 Suffolk University in the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament. Unfortunately, a slow start sabotaged the Monks' chances of advancing further as the Rams staked a 36-21 lead at intermission with the help of a 15-2 run to start the game. Saint Joseph's retaliated in the second half and posted a 23-0 run part-way through the latter stanza, but Suffolk held on and the Monks' season came to an end with a 71-62 loss.
INDIVIDUALS:
- Geel led the Monks in scoring (11.6 PPG) rebounding (6.3 RPG), field goal percentage (45.7%, 128-280) and blocked shots (56) as junior and garnered Second Team All-GNAC honors for her efforts. She closed out the year with 155 blocked shots and has netted 56 blocks, the second-most posted by an SJC player in a single season, in consecutive years.
- McDevitt, a team tri-captain, averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists last winter and ranked second in the GNAC in three-point field goal percentage (42.4%, 61-144) and fourth in three-pointers made as a junior. One of the best long-distance shooters in program history, she heads into her final collegiate campaign ranked second all-time in three-point FG% (38.8%, 128-330), fourth in three-pointers made and seventh in attempts from beyond the arc. Her 61 three-pointers made in 2011 is the second most by an SJC player while her 42.4% (61-144) ranks fifth in the team's history.
- A trio of rookies – Young, Dufour and Moore – immediately injected athleticism, skill and toughness into the Monks' lineup last winter. Young appeared in all 27 games averaged 9.5 points, the highest average by a Monks rookie since 2007, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per tilt coming off the bench. Dufour, the first SJC player to accumulate at least 100 assists in a season since 2002, started all 27 contests at the point position and recorded 4.0 points, 4.1 assists, 2.2 caroms and 2.0 steals per game as a rookie. Moore, a two-sport athlete who is also a standout softball player at St. Joe's, provided a boost off the bench in all 27 contests and recorded averages of 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last winter.
- Parent, another tri-captain, contributed across the board as she averaged 7.8 points, 4.2 boards, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 27 starts as a junior.
- Drake, the team's only senior who also served as a tri-captain last year, netted 5.2 points and 2.3 assists per contest in 27 starts during her final NCAA season. In 97 career games she registered 478 points, 263 assists, 201 rebounds and 109 steals and the Monks posted a 58-44 (.569) during her four years.
- Shufelt showed improvement during her sophomore season when she averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. She appeared in all 27 games and made one start last winter.
- Grigware, Amelia Lamb '12 (Topsham, Maine), Theresa Hendrix '14 (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) and Skyler Makkinje '14 (Hillsboro, N.H.) all logged valuable minutes coming off the bench last year and will relied upon again this coming season. Hendrix, a mid-year transfer, emerged as one of the Monks' top defensive players and averaged 11.4 minutes per game before suffering a season-ending injury just before the GNAC tourney.
Look for the women's basketball program to make another run in the GNAC Tournament this coming winter as all but one player - Drake - returns from an 18-win season and last year's impressive rookie group now has a year of collegiate basketball experience in tow. McDevitt's first full recruiting class yielded a handful of immediate contributors - the continued development of these rising sophomores and the caliber of the incoming 2015 class will be major factors for the team moving forward.
