BANGOR, Maine – Junior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) netted a career-high 30 points and added 12 rebounds and sophomore guard Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) notched her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 caroms to help Saint Joseph's College (3-0) outlast Husson University (0-2) in double-overtime, 82-78, in a non-conference women's basketball contest on Thursday evening.
Freshman forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) also posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in the marathon victory.
In a contest that featured 11 tie scores and 10 lead changes with neither team holding more than a seven-point advantage, Saint Joseph's managed to avenge a buzzer-beater loss at the hands of Husson last November with the help of six points from Cahill in the second extra frame. Senior guard Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) also played an important role by making all four of her free throw attempts in the deciding period.
An evenly matched first half foretold what lay ahead for the in-state rivals, as the Monks and Eagles stood at a 32-32 stalemate after the opening 20 minutes. Cahill and Kehoe scored eight points apiece to lead the Monks in the opening frame while Katy Brochu (Bangor, Maine) paced the Eagles with 10 first-half points.
Saint Joseph's kicked off the second stanza with six unanswered points, as Cahill capped the offensive surge with a layup to make it a 38-32 game with 17:28 left in regulation. Husson answered in kind with a 7-2 run over the following 2:27 of play, but the Monks managed to hold on to the lead until senior center Stephanie Comstock (Bangor, Maine) connected on a free throw to knot the game at 58-all with 1:58 left.
Waggett helped the Monks regain the lead with a tip-in to make it a 60-58 score with 29 seconds on the clock, but Husson sophomore guard Chandler Guerrette (Presque Isle, Maine) converted a layup eight seconds later, a play that ultimately forced extra time. Cahill had a look with two seconds left, but her shot was off the mark as the teams stood at a 60-60 deadlock with the contest headed for extra time.
The Eagles secured the first lead of extended play with a Brochu bucket 14 seconds in, but Saint Joseph's countered with a pair of Kehoe freebies and an Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) three to secure a 65-62 advantage with 3:40 left in the first OT frame. With nine of the Eagles' 10 first overtime points, Brochu almost singlehandedly willed the game into the second extra frame.
Late in the five-minute period, after a steal, Kehoe was fouled on a fast break and made one of two FT attempts, lifting the Royal Blue to a 70-69 edge with 44 seconds left. Ten seconds later on the other end, Guerrette was fouled and went to the line with a chance to put her team on top, but was 1-2 from the stripe to tie the game yet again. Cahill had another shot in the waning seconds, but Comstock rejected the attempt, effectively sending the tilt to another overtime period.
Both teams featured players with foul trouble going into what turned out to be the deciding frame, with Cahill having committed her fourth foul just four minutes into the second half and four Eagles – including Brochu and Comstock – carrying four infractions into the second OT. Comstock, one of the hosts' top post players, was slapped with her fifth just 54 seconds into the final period and Assante made both free throws to put the Monks up by four (74-70) as a result.
Junior Victoria McIntyre (Mars Hill, Maine) and sophomore Denae Johnson (Bangor, Maine) cut the SJC cushion to nil (76-76) with layups on consecutive Husson possessions, but a Cahill jumper at the 1:52 mark would put the visitors on top for good. Kehoe made a jumpshot with 53 seconds left and Assante drilled a pair of freebies 36 seconds later to extend the Monks' advantage to 82-76 before McIntyre tapped in a layup as time expired to account for the 82-78 final.
Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 34.7% (26-75) from the field, 33.3% (5-15) from three-point distance, and 78.1% (25-32) from the free throw line while Husson shot 34.1% (28-82) from the floor, 33.3% (7-21) from downtown, and 65.2% (15-23) from the charity stripe on the evening.
For the Monks, Assante registered eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals and Eastman chipped in with six points and five assists.
Brochu led the Eagles with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots while McIntyre and Comstock notched 13 points and nine boards apiece and Guerrette added 12 points in a losing effort.
Saint Joseph's hosts Maine Maritime in the team's 2014-15 home-opener on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Husson jumps into conference play with a contest at Thomas College starting at 5:30 PM on Tuesday.
GAME NOTES
Cahill is the third Saint Joseph's player to score 30 points in a game in the last 14 seasons as she joins former teammate Abby Young '14 and SJC hall of fame inductee Stacey Gelinas '02 on the exclusive list…tonight's game counted as the Monks' first double-OT game since the Royal Blue defeated UMass.-Dartmouth, 81-80, in 50 minutes on November 19th, 2010…with the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 38-31 all-time versus Husson…the Monks are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign and the 10th time in the 38-year history of the women's basketball program…Cahill, Kehoe and Waggett comprise the first trio to record a double-double in the same game for the Monks in the last 15 years.
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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.
