BOSTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (12-6, 6-0 GNAC) led wire to wire in a 72-38 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Simmons College (3-14, 1-6 GNAC) on Thursday night. Junior guard Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) came off the bench to net a game-high 15 points off a 5-5 effort from the floor in the SJC win.
Leading 11-9 five minutes into play, the Monks rattled off 21 unanswered points and had secured a 32-9 cushion when Shufelt closed out the offensive surge with at three-pointer at the 3:57 mark. The Sharks countered with a modest 9-1 run of their own to cut their deficit to 33-18 heading into intermission.
Employing mostly bench players, Saint Joseph's continued to dominate in the second stanza as the visitors shot 57.1% from the floor, and 81.2% from the free throw line, in the final 20 minutes to cruise to a 34-point victory.
For the Monks, senior guard Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) netted 13 points with the help of a 3-4 effort from downtown, senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) added 12 points and eight rebounds, and freshman point guard Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) contributed a career-best 11 points while shooting 7-11 from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Alyssa Grigware (Biddeford, Maine) grabbed seven rebounds, sophomore point guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) contributed five assists, and sophomore forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) tallied five points and six caroms for Saint Joseph's.
Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.) and Hannah May (Hamden, Conn.) both scored 12 points for the Sharks in a losing effort.
With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 4-2 in the history of the series with Simmons College. The Monks, who defeated the Sharks by a 74-56 margin last season, have now topped Simmons in consecutive meetings for the first time and the 38 points scored by the Sharks in tonight's tilt is the fewest scored by either team in the six-game set.
St. Joe's hosts GNAC foe Suffolk University (13-5, 6-1 GNAC) on Saturday at 1:00 PM while Simmons travels to Emmanuel College (12-6, 6-0 GNAC) for a 1:00 PM tip on the same date.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.