MEDFORD, MA – Tufts University (27-1, 10-0 NESCAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (23-6, 10-1 GNAC), 66-43, in the first round of the NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament at Cousens Gymnasium on Friday evening. Sophomore center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) netted a game-high 22 points and was 10-12 from the free throw line in the loss.

With the victory, Tufts – ranked fourth nationally in the most recent D3Hoops.com Poll – moves on and will face University of New England in the second round tomorrow at 5:00 PM. The Nor'easters defeated New York University, 80-77, in the other first-round matchup at Cousens Gym this evening. For Saint Joseph's, the loss signals an end to one of the most successful seasons in recent program history.

Making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Monks maintained pace for the better part of the first half and trailed by three (20-17) after Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) drained a three-pointer with 5:24 before the break. The visitors' deficit grew quickly however, as the Jumbos proceeded to outscore Saint Joseph's by an 18-4 margin for the remainder of the opening frame and carried a 38-21 cushion into intermission.

Senior forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) led the Monks with 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half while Jumbos' junior Hayley Kanner (Scarsdale, N.Y.) tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots over the opening 20 minutes of play.

Tufts extended the lead to 46-21 with eight unanswered points during the first 3:33 of the second stanza. After Cahill made a pair of freebies and Young converted a layup, junior guard Kelsey Morehead (Foster City, Calif.) nailed a three to push the hosts' lead to 49-25 with 15:01 remaining.

Both teams hit a shooting drought after Morehead's bucket, with the only offense either team could muster over the following five-plus minutes would be four free throws from Young and another pair of freebies from Cahill, as the Monks tallied six straight points from the stripe to cut the Tufts lead down to 49-31.

Senior forward Ali Rocchi (Fairfield, Conn.) brought an end to the collective shooting slump with a jump shot at the 9:33 mark. The Jumbos held a 56-33 cushion after Morehead made a three-pointer with 7:57 to play.

The Monks made one final push to get back in the game, as Cahill scored eight during a 10-2 run that cut the SJC deficit down to 58-43 with 3:53 left. Young capped the outburst with a layup off a Cahill helper, but the field goal turned out to be the last of the contest for Saint Joseph's, as the Jumbos countered with eight unanswered points to close out the tournament tilt and account for the 66-43 final.

Young posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for Saint Joseph's, which shot 88.9% (16-18) from the FT line in a losing effort.

Morehead paced the Jumbos with 17 points on a 5-6 effort from three-point distance while Kanner ended the contest with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five rejections. Tufts, which broke the program's single-season wins record with #27 tonight, shot 40.9% (9-22) from beyond the arc and 88.2% (15-17) in the victory.

The loss brings an end to collegiate basketball for the Monks' four seniors: Young, Dufour, Skyler Makkinje (Hillsboro, N.H.) and Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus). The 2014 senior class helped Saint Joseph's post a 67-34 (.663) overall record with a 40-8 (.833) mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play over the last four seasons. The four-year win total is the most posted by a women's basketball graduating class since 2005 and the winning percentage is the highest since the 2004 class recorded a .709 success rate.

For Saint Joseph's, the 2013-14 win total ranks as the program's most since 2001-02 when Coach McDevitt led the Monks to a 23-3 record. St. Joe's has not played as many as 29 games in a season since the 1992-93 campaign.

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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.