STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (9-7, 3-2 GNAC) defeated Anna Maria College (4-12, 0-3 GNAC), 73-46, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Freshman center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) registered her seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Trailing 11-5 after AMCATS junior Taylor Walker (Winchendon, Mass.) made a layup 4:29 into play, the Monks proceeded to rattle off 11 unanswered points to claim a lead that would not be relinquished for the remainder of the afternoon.
The hosts utilized the long-ball to get over the hump, as junior Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point game at the 15:04 mark and senior Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) drained trifectas on consecutive trips down the floor to cap her team's outburst and lift the Royal Blue to a 16-11 advantage with 13:06 before the break.
Anna Maria was able to remain in play and trailed by six (23-17) when sophomore Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) connected on a shot from beyond the arc with 8:39 left in the first half. As it played out, Pryor's field goal would be the AMCATS' only bucket over the following 8:38, as a pair of Brooke Denver (New Britain, Conn.) free throws was all the offense the visitors would muster before Liz Sama (Windsor, Conn.) drilled a three-pointer at the first-half buzzer. In the meantime, the Monks scored 15 points and carried a comfortable 38-22 cushion into intermission.
Shufelt led all first-half scorers with 10 points, while Pryor paced the AMCATS with nine over the opening 20 minutes of play. Walker pulled down 10 rebounds for the visitors before the break.
Saint Joseph's quickly extended the lead to 20-plus points early in the second stanza and held a game-high 30-point (67-37) advantage after junior Skyler Makkinje (Hillsboro, N.H.) made a freebie with 4:07 remaining in the conference contest.
For the Monks, Shufelt netted 17 points and collected three steals, senior forward Alyssa Grigware (Biddeford, Maine) left the bench to produce 10 points and five rebounds, and Young contributed eight points and a pair of blocked shots. Junior point guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) enjoyed a productive afternoon with six points, six assists and five steals and freshman guard Shannon McFayden (Ipswich, Mass.) registered seven points, three steals and a pair of boards in the victory.
For the AMCATS, Pryor went 4-5 from three-point land and scored 16 with five rebounds, Walker tallied eight points and a game-high 13 caroms, and Cummings chipped in six points and three steals in a losing effort.
Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 38.8% (26-67) from the floor, 25% (5-20) from downtown and 76.2% (16-21) from the FT line while Anna Maria shot 34.1% (15-44) from the field, 33.3% (5-15) from three-point range and 52.4% (11-21) from the charity stripe.
The Monks netted 32 points off 27 Anna Maria turnovers and held sizeable advantages in both points in the paint (36-14) and bench points (30-11) on the afternoon.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-0 in the history of the series with Anna Maria College.
Up next for the Monks is a home contest versus GNAC-rival Johnson & Wales University at 5:30 PM on Monday. The AMCATS also host a conference opponent – Albertus Magnus College – on Monday in a 3:00 PM tip-off.
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.
