NEW HAVEN, CT – Saint Joseph's (18-7, 12-1 GNAC) required an overtime frame to defeat Albertus Magnus College (14-11, 6-7 GNAC), 79-75, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons battled back from a 22-point deficit at the 16:25 mark in the second half to take a five-point advantage with 29 seconds left on the clock. Senior guard Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) hit two three-pointers in the final 20 seconds of regulation to tie the contest at 67 and force extra play.
In overtime, the Monks jumped out with a 4-0 run as the Falcons missed their first three field goal attempts. Albertus battled back to take a 73-71 lead on two Lindsay Karle (Wallingford, Conn.) free throws before Saint Joseph's took a 77-75 lead with 15 seconds left on the clock. Junior guard Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) clinched the victory for the Monks with three seconds remaining.
The matchup, which was the final regular-season game for both programs, will be replayed at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night when the GNAC Tournament begins. The second-seeded Monks will host the #7 Falcons at 5:30 PM in what figures to be an exciting start to the tourney.
Both teams struggled from the floor early in the first half as the Falcons finished the frame 8-of-29 for a 27.6-percentage. Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) tallied 11 first-half points along with five rebounds to lead the Falcons in the frame, while Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) added four points.
Saint Joseph's shot 36.4-percent from the floor in the opening half led by seven points from sophomore forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine).
With the game at eight at the 11:15 mark in the first frame, the Monks put together a 7-3 run to take a 15-11 lead. After an Albertus timeout, the Monks went on an 11-0 run to extend their lead to as much as 18 with less than two minutes before the break.
The Monks opened the second stanza with a 13-4 run to extend their lead to 22 points less than five minutes into the latter half. The Falcons began the second half shooting 61.5-perccent in the first eight minutes of the frame and were able to cut the Monks' lead to 10 at 53-43 with 11 minutes left in regulation.
The Falcons made a strong comeback as they shot 63.3-percent from the floor in the second half, outscoring the Monks 48-35 in the frame.
For St. Joe's, senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) tallied 19 points, eight boards, five assists and two blocks and McDevitt poured in 15 with five caroms and three dimes. Sophomore forward Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) recorded 13 points and six rebounds, Young added nine points, and Shufelt netted eight with four boards, three assists and two steals in the victory.
McDevitt drained a trio of trifectas in the victory and, with her final three of the contest, moved into second on the Monks' all-time three pointers made list. The senior sharpshooter has now made 174 treys over the past four seasons and surpassed former teammate Carolyn Freeman '10, who connected on 173 shots from downtown in her career.
For Albertus, Carrero put up 25 points and 10 boards, Bianca Brown (West Haven, Conn.) registered 17 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and three steals. Karle contributed with seven assists as she was 2-of-6 from behind the arc as well.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-0 in the history of the series with Albertus Magnus College.
THANKS IN PART TO ALBERTUS MAGNUS COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION