STANDISH, ME – Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (20-5, 10-1 GNAC) will host #7 Lasell College (12-13, 5-6 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal at 5:30 PM on Tuesday at the Harold Alfond Center.
The last time we met:
Saint Joseph's and Lasell faced off in the Lasers' home gym just three days ago, when the Monks posted a comeback 60-56 victory to end the regular season on a high note.
Senior forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) tallied a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds and became the 21st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the triumph. Sophomore center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) tallied 15 points and eight rebounds while Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) and Danica Gleason (South Portland, Maine) contributed nine points apiece for Saint Joseph's.
For the Lasers, Molly Lauver (Cambridge, N.Y.) netted a game-high 21 points off a 5-8 shooting effort from three-point distance while Alexis Chappell added 14 points and Kayla Vincelette (Westport, Mass.) chipped in with nine points in the losing effort.
What have you done lately?
The Monks, who enter tournament having won five-consecutive GNAC contests, have won seven of the last eight games since late-January. Saint Joseph's started the win streak with a 69-63 victory over Rivier University – the #3 seed in the GNAC Tournament – on February 8th and went on to defeat Simmons College (54-28), Suffolk University (54-50) and Mount Ida College (77-39) before tipping Lasell on Saturday.
The Lasers are an even 5-5 in their last 10 games but entered the game versus St. Joe's on Saturday with wins in three of the previous four contests, with wins over Simmons College (71-52), Mount Ida College (72-55) and Norwich University (69-61).
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's is 9-1 all-time versus Lasell College and has defeated the Lasers in eight-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2005-06 season. Saturday's margin of victory (six points) was the smallest posted by the Monks during the match-up. Lasell's lone triumph came on January 27th, 2005 when the Lasers edged the Monks by a 47-46 score on their home court.
Who to watch:
Play under the hoop will be a major factor for the Monks, who have two of the best post players in the conference in Cahill and Young. Cahill, the 2013 GNAC Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-GNAC honoree last season, leads the team in scoring (14.9 PPG), rebounding (7.7 RPG) and blocked shots (51) and Young, in the midst of her best collegiate season, averages 14.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Also, watch for the Monks' point-guard tandem of Dufour and Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) to wreak havoc on defense and the team's freshman guard trio of Gleason, Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) and Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) play a factor in the result as well.
Katie Stopera leads a trio of Lasers who average at least 10 points per game with 13.3 PPG and also contributes 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. Alexis Chappell adds 12.6 points and 7.4 boards per game and is currently shooting 52.1% (111-213) from the floor while Lauver contributes 11.6 PPG and ranks as the visitors' top three-point threat, as the sophomore guard enters tonight's game shooting a team-high 35.6% (36-101) from downtown.
Junior forward Danielle Autencio (Montville, Conn.) nearly averages a double-double with 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and also figures to play a determining factor in tonight's result.
| TEAM COMPARISON | SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE | LASELL COLLEGE | ||
| Games | 25 | 1st | 25 | 1st |
| Points | 1612 | 6th | 1580 | 8th |
| Points per game | 64.5 | 6th | 63.2 | 8th |
| FG made per game | 23.6 | 5th | 22.8 | 7th |
| FG attempts per game | 56.6 | 10th | 56 | 11th |
| FG Pct | 41.7 | 1st | 40.7 | 4th |
| 3PT made per game | 3.4 | 9th | 3.7 | 8th |
| 3PT attempts per game | 12 | 11th | 12.2 | 10th |
| 3PT Pct | 28.8 | 7th | 30.6 | 4th |
| FT made per game | 13.8 | 7th | 13.9 | 6th |
| FT attempt per game | 20.8 | 5th | 18.9 | 8th |
| FT Pct | 66.5 | 7th | 73.4 | 1st |
| Off rebounds per game | 14.1 | 5th | 11.2 | 12th |
| Def rebounds per game | 27 | 7th | 27.5 | 4th |
| Total rebounds per game | 41.1 | 5th | 38.7 | 9th |
| Rebound margin per game | 5.8 | 3rd | -2.7 | 6th |
| Assists per game | 16.4 | 2nd | 15.9 | 4th |
| Turnovers per game | 18.8 | 8th | 18.7 | 7th |
| Steals per game | 9.5 | 6th | 7.6 | 8th |
| Blocks per game | 3.6 | 2nd | 3.4 | 3rd |
| Personal fouls per game | 16.2 | 2nd | 14.8 | 1st |
| Points per game allowed | 52.6 | 1st | 66.1 | 8th |
| Opponents' Field goal percentage | 33.9 | 1st | 37.4 | 8th |
| Opponents' 3PT percentage | 26.8 | 1st | 30.8 | 12th |
| Home Attendance | 2477 | 2nd | 581 | 11th |
| Home Attendance average | 206 | 2nd | 45 | 11th |
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
