STANDISH, ME – University of New England (6-1) defeated Saint Joseph's College (4-5), 55-38, in a non-conference women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center this afternoon. Junior guard Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points in the SJC setback.

The in-state rivals played fairly even over the eight minutes of play and the Monks held a 13-9 lead after freshman guard Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) capped an 11-3 run with a jump shot at the 12:32 mark. The advantage was short-lived however, as the Nor'easters – who defeated nationally-ranked Colby College in overtime on Tuesday - netted 13 unanswered points over the next four minutes to collect a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

UNE junior forward Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) tallied 14 points and eight rebounds – both game-highs – while junior guard Liz LeBlanc (Jay, Maine) registered 11 points for the visitors. Senior forward Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) added nine points, seven assists, senior guard Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) contributed eight points, seven caroms and three steals, and freshman swing player Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) chipped in with seven points and three steals off the bench.

For the Monks, sophomore forward Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) notched eight points and five boards, senior forward Allie Parent (Camden, Maine) added seven points and three assists, and sophomore point guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) grabbed three steals.

The outlook for the hosts was dreary in the early going as a pair of SJC turnovers yielded two quick UNE baskets, layups by LeBlanc and Paradis, in the first 1:12 of play. Saint Joseph's trailed 6-2 48 seconds later when Paradis converted another drive, but the Royal Blue managed to knot the game when Moore and Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, Maine) netted layups to even the score at 6-6 with 16:48 left in the opening period.

Suggs was fouled after hauling in an offensive board and made a pair of freebies and Paradis made one of two from the stripe after being fouled on a fast break to lift the visitors to a 9-6 advantage just over two minutes later. Parent proceeded to propel the Monks to their first lead of the afternoon with two layups in a matter of 33 seconds and Nicolette Kapothanasis '15 (Westbrook, Maine/Portland) hit one free throw attempt at the 13:21 mark to give her team an 11-9 advantage. Assante's shot with 12:32 left in the half provided the hosts with a 13-9 cushion.

Saint Joseph's went on to commit eight turnovers and shot just 2-14 from the floor while the Nor'easters' netted 13 straight points as part of a 21-5 outbreak. As a result, UNE carried a 30-18 advantage into intermission.

St. Joe's shot 36.4% from the floor, 40% from the FT line and went 0-3 from downtown in the first half. University of New England shot 33.3% from the field, 15.4% from three-point distance, and 80% from the charity stripe of the opening 20 minutes.

Suggs tallied 12 points to lead all first-half scorers while Parent and Moore netted four points apiece to pace the Monks.

In the second stanza, the Nor'easters continued to increase their lead while the Monks' shooting woes persisted, as the hosts would not score a basket until Shufelt made a layup at the 12:05 mark to close out a 13-minute span during which the Royal Blue failed to net a field goal.

In the meantime, UNE extended its advantage to 42-21 and maintained at least a 15-point cushion for the remainder of play.

Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 34.8% (16-46) from the field, 10% (1-10) from three-point range, and 55.6% (5-9) from the FT line. University of New England shot 36.4% (20-55) from the floor, 14.3% (3-21) from beyond the arc, and 75% (12-16) from the charity stripe.

UNE won the turnover battle (18-22) and held advantages in rebounds (37-28), assists (15-8), points off turnovers (23-13) and second-chance points (9-8). St. Joe's led in points in the paint (26-24), fastbreak points (8-0) and bench points (18-13) in a losing effort.

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 49-13 in the history of the series with University of New England. The Nor'easters have now defeated the Monks in eight consecutive meetings dating back to the 2005 campaign.

For St. Joe's, today's point total is the lowest scored by the team since a 63-36 setback at the hands of Connecticut College on November 16th, 2007. The Monks have now dropped four consecutive contests.

Both teams plays are off until the New Year, as the Monks travel to Lyndon State College on January 4th for a 6:00 PM tip-off and the Nor'easters host #11 Williams College at 4:00 PM on January 2nd.