STANDISH, Maine – #6 Saint Joseph's College (16-9, 6-5 GNAC) will play at #3 Johnson & Wales University (16-9, 8-3 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal tonight at 5:30 PM.
This evening's winner moves on to the next round of the GNAC Tournament and will face either #2 Norwich University (21-4, 8-3 GNAC) or #7 Anna Maria College (10-15, 5-6 GNAC) on Thursday night. The Cadets and AMCATS also play this evening, as do top-seeded Emmanuel College (16-9, 11-0 GNAC) and #8 Albertus Magnus College (11-14, 4-7 GNAC) and #4 Suffolk University (12-13, 8-3 GNAC) and #5 Rivier University (11-13, 7-4 GNAC).
The conference championship game will be played on Saturday, February 28th. The higher seeded team hosts throughout tourney play and the GNAC Champion earns an automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 6th.
What have you done lately?
Saint Joseph's, the reigning GNAC Champion, begins tournament play having lost three-consecutive games with setbacks at the hands of postseason-bound Emmanuel, Suffolk and Johnson & Wales. Including a loss to Norwich on Saturday, February 7th, the Monks have dropped four straight GNAC contests, with all four losses coming against the top four seeds in the conference tourney.
St. Joe's suffered a 59-57 loss to Johnson & Wales in the regular-season finale, which was played at the Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. The Monks held the lead for all but five seconds in the loss, as JWU freshman guard Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.) provided the Wildcats with their only lead of the contest with a three-pointer in the waning seconds of play, clinching the #3 seed for the visitors and putting an end to the Monks' hopes of hosting a first-round tourney tilt.
Junior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) has been the Monks' leading scorer in five of the last six contests, averaging 18.5 points during the recent spell, and freshman forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) has averaged 11.8 PPG over the last four games, a stretch highlighted by her first collegiate 20-point effort against Fisher College on February 11th.
Johnson & Wales kicks off the GNAC Tournament riding a six-game winning streak, as the Wildcats have rattled off six-consecutive wins after dropping a 65-44 decision at the hands of Emmanuel on February 3rd. JWU defeated tourney-bound Albertus Magnus and St. Joe's as well as Mount Ida College, Lasell College, Simmons College and University of Saint Joseph during the team's current win streak.
Against the Monks on Saturday, Johnson & Wales shot just 28.6% (18-63) from the field but managed to clinch the victory by going 18-23 from the FT line while grabbing 22 offensive rebounds, a tally that led to 22 second-chance points.
One of the top rookies in the conference this winter, Pederzani netted 15 points in the win over Saint Joseph's and has averaged 16.3 PPG during the six-game string. Sophomore forward Bobbie Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) netted 20 with 13 rebounds versus the Monks on Saturday and has registered a double-double in three of the Wildcats' last four contests.
Who to watch – Saint Joseph's:
Cahill, who became the 22nd member of the Monks' 1,000-Point Club earlier this season, has been a consistent force in the paint for Saint Joseph's during her career and leads the team in scoring (15.8 PPG), rebounding (7.7 RPG), field goal percentage (42.2%, 144-341), free throw percentage (73.0%, 92-126) and blocked shots (30). She is just the sixth player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark as a junior and recently passed Abbie Rice '04 for second on the team's all-time blocks list (149).
With Cahill, who has led the Monks in scoring in 16 different games this winter, playing the leading role, Saint Joseph's has featured a wide variety of contributors throughout the season. Senior point guard Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) averages 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.2 steals per contest and has scored 10 or more points in nine different games this year. Sophomore guard Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.), an excellent defender, adds 8.2 PPG and ranks second on the squad with 36 steals. Sophomore guard Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) contributes 5.3 PPG and ranks second on the squad in three-pointers made (25).
Waggett leads a talented freshman class with 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest and ranks second on the team with a 39.3% (70-178) field goal percentage. Sisters Emily and Hayley Quirion (Augusta, Maine) average 5.0 PPG and 4.2 PPG, respectively, with the latter ranking as the team-leader in three-pointers made (28). Freshman forwards Brianne Maloney (South Portland, Maine) and Brianna Holdren (Portland, Maine) have seen their minutes grow as the season has progressed and both players are capable of posting double-digit point totals.
Who to watch – Johnson & Wales:
Pederzani, a point guard, paces the Wildcats with 13.4 PPG and ranks as the conference-leader in three-point success with a 41.9% (52-124) rate from beyond the arc. The first-year guard has made at least one three-pointer in all but four contests and has garnered a pair of GNAC Rookie of the Week accolades this winter.
Whitehead is second on the team in scoring (11.1 PPG) and ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding with 10.4 caroms per contest. The sophomore standout has recorded nine double-doubles this season and has pulled down double-digit rebound totals in 15 different games, including an 18-board effort against Nichols College on January 22nd.
Freshman center Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) rounds out the Wildcats' top-scoring trifecta with 10.6 PPG and 7.0 RPG. Freshman guard Sarah Duryea (Middle Village, N.Y.) averages 6.8 PPG and first-year Kristen Habbel (Phoenixville, Pa.) adds 5.8 PPG while Kaitlin Kenney (Branford, Conn.), the team's lone senior contributor, has netted 4.8 PPG while starting all 25 contests this year.
Recipe for success – Saint Joseph's:
Led by 22nd-year Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83, Saint Joseph's ranks second in the conference in rebounding (44.6 RPG) and rebound margin (6.5) as well as scoring defense (57.8) and opponents' field goal percentage (34.8%). Rebounding differential appears to be a good indicator for this team, as the Monks own an 8-3 record when out-rebounding their opponent by six or more caroms. St. Joe's is also 12-1 when committing 18 or fewer turnovers and 13-2 when making 12 or more free throws this season.
Recipe for success – Johnson & Wales:
Johnson & Wales, led by third-year Head Coach Corey Boilard, is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference this winter, as the Wildcats rank second in the GNAC in three-pointers made per game (5.5) and third in three-point success (32.5%). JWU also ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.1) and third in scoring defense (58.1 PPG).
The Wildcats are 11-1 when posting a 37.5% field goal percentage and 8-2 when making at least 13 free throws in a game this winter. JWU is also 14-3 when scoring 60 or more points and 8-2 when shooting 64% or better from the charity stripe.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Coach McDevitt owns a 453-179 (.717) career coaching record and ranks as the winningest and most successful skipper in program history. A member of the SJC Athletics Hall of Fame as a former standout men's basketball player, McDevitt led the Monks to their first GNAC title and NCAA Tournament appearance last winter and has guided the Royal Blue to eight conference championships and seven NAIA National Tournament berths during his career.
Coach Boilard has posted a 38-40 (.487) record in three seasons with the Wildcats thus far and led his team to an upset victory over Suffolk University in the conference quarterfinals last year. The win over the Rams was the Wildcat's first GNAC tourney win since the 2008-09 campaign.
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's is 5-4 all-time against Johnson & Wales University, with last Saturday's loss snapping a five-game winning streak versus the Wildcats. The Monks have not lost at the Wildcat Center – JWU's home court in Providence – since January 18th, 2010.
#GOMONKS
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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.
