STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (10-3, 1-0 GNAC) employed an impressive 28-32 free-throw shooting effort in a 62-55 non-conference women's basketball victory over Colby College (8-5, 1-1 NESCAC) at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.
THE LEAD
With neither team lighting it up from the floor – both squads shot just 28.3% - free throw shooting became the point of emphasis in a contest featuring three lead changes and seven tie scores. The Mules posted a respectable 70% (14-20) performance from the charity stripe and actually held the lead in nearly every statistical category, but the Monks' best free-throw shooting effort in nearly three years proved to be too much for the visitors to overcome.
St. Joe's held a 44-41 lead going into the fourth quarter and kicked off the final frame with a 12-4 run, which was capped by an Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) layup and saw the Monks claim their largest advantage – 11 points (56-45) – with 5:47 remaining.
Colby managed to cut the deficit down to 56-50 after senior Mia Diplock (Augusta, Maine) banked in a shot clock buzzer beater at the 3:31 mark, but the Monks made six of eight freebie attempts in the closing 81 seconds to seal the victory.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S
- Senior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) tallied 13 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists
- Freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) contributed 11 points, five boards, four assists and three steals
- Benway added seven points, four rebounds and a pair of steals
- Junior guard Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) logged valuable minutes off the bench and posted seven points with two caroms and two steals while making all five of her free throw attempts
- Sophomore guard Emily Quirion (Augusta, Maine) chimed in with seven points
- Junior guard Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) was 6-6 from the FT line with six rebounds
- Sophomore forward Brianne Maloney (South Portland, Maine) totaled four points, two boards and a pair of rejections in 13 bench minutes
LEADERS – COLBY
- Diplock led all scorers with 19 points and added five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals
- Sophomore center Haley Driscoll (New Bedford, N.H.) added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds
- Senior guard Carylanne Wolfington (Hampden, Maine) chipped in with 10 points and three caroms
- Senior guard Desiree Smith (Watertown, Wis.) was 7-10 from the free throw line with four boards and a pair of steals
TEAM STATS
Saint Josephs' shot 28.3% (15-53) from the floor, 25% (4-16) from three-point distance, and 87.5% (28-32) from the FT line while Colby posted averages of 28.3% (17-60), 31.8% (7-22) and 70% (14-20) from the field, beyond the arc, and the charity stripe, respectively.
Colby maintained advantages in rebounding (42-41), assists (11-9), points off turnovers (15-8), second-chance points (17-7) and points in the paint (18-16) in the losing effort. St. Joe's won the turnover battle (12-14) and held a sizeable lead in bench points (18-2) on the evening.
NOTEWORTHY
The last time Saint Joseph's converted at least 28 free throw attempts took place in a 71-61 victory over Johnson & Wales University at the Alfond Center on January 21st, 2013 when the Monks went 30-44 from the line…the program record for free throws made – 40 – occurred in a 98-84 win over Emmanuel College on January 26th, 1993.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-14 all-time versus Colby College, a team that edged the Monks by a 66-64 margin in Waterville earlier this season (Dec. 6).
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's travels to Lasell College on Saturday for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up slated to begin at 1:00 PM. Colby hosts New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foe Williams College on Friday at 7:00 PM.
#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 474-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.
