STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (16-4, 6-0 GNAC) rallied from a first-quarter deficit to defeat Rivier University (8-12, 3-4 GNAC), 64-55, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening

THE LEAD

Saint Joseph's was sluggish out of the gate and an 8-8 free-throw shooting effort by Rivier saw the visitors carry a 17-15 advantage after the first quarter. The Monks managed to take the lead for good with a 9-0 run in the beginning of the second stanza, as freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) capped the outbreak with a three-pointer, lifting the hosts to a 24-17 cushion with 8:14 before the break.

The Monks owned a 33-22 advantage going into intermission and increased their lead to 48-30 with the help of a 9-2 run over the final two minutes of the third period.

The Raiders heated up in the fourth quarter, shooting 52.6% (10-19) from the floor while outscoring the Monks by a 25-16 margin in the final frame. Trailing by 19 (56-37) with 6:27 remaining, Rivier mounted an 18-8 scoring burst with freshman Kaylee Kacavas (Dracut, Mass.) hitting a pair of three-pointers in the closing 36 seconds, but the effort proved to be too late.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S

• McNamara led the way with 15 points, four rebounds, eight assists and four steals and made three of four shots from downtown in the victory
• Senior Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) added 10 points and six boards
• Sophomore Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) contributed eight points and six caroms in 16 minutes off the bench
• Freshman Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) produced eight points and five rebounds
• Junior Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) continues to play well and chipped in with seven points, four boards, and a pair of steals in 13 minutes

LEADERS – RIVIER

• Junior Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and was 7-7 from the free-throw line
• Kacavas produced 15 points with five boards
• Junior Caitlyn Perry (Nashua, N.H.) netted 13 points with four caroms and three steals
• Sophomore Alex Trevains (Litchfield, N.H.) came off the bench to score seven points with three rebounds

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's posted averages of 37.7% (26-69), 28.6% (4-14), and 80% (8-10) from the floor, beyond the arc, and the charity stripe while Rivier shot 31.6% (18-57) overall, 22.7% (5-22) from downtown, and 93.3% (14-15) from the free-throw line on the evening.

The Monks held the lead in rebounds (48-36), assists (16-6), points off turnovers (20-18), points in the paint (30-20), and bench points (28-7) in the victory.

NOTEWORTHY

The Monks committed 20 turnovers tonight – the highest total since the team gave the ball away 21 times in a win over University of Southern Maine on November 29th…the SJC free throw total – eight – is the second-lowest of the season (five vs. Bates, 12/10)…the Raiders shot just 16% (4-25) from the field – with just one field goal in the second frame - and were outscored 33-13 in the second and third quarters combined.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-4 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in four consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013-14 campaign. In eight of the last 10 meetings between the GNAC rivals, the winning margin has been less than 10 points.

NEXT!

Both teams are set to host GNAC contests this Saturday when Saint Joseph's faces Mount Ida College (5-15, 3-5 GNAC) and Rivier takes on Johnson & Wales University (18-2, 6-1 GNAC). Both games are slated to begin at 1:00 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.