CASTINE, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (1-0) kicked off the 2017-18 women's basketball season with a decisive 80-53 victory at Maine Maritime Academy (0-1) on Wednesday evening.

FIRST GLANCE:

Junior guard Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) led five Monks in double digits with 19 points and Saint Joseph's shot 51.7% (30-58) from the floor, including an 11-26 (42.3%) three-point shooting performance, while netting 38 points in the paint in the season-opening triumph.

THE REST OF THE STORY:

Leading 20-16 after the first quarter, the Monks could not pull away until late in the second frame, when Champagne scored eight points during a 10-1 SJC run, which extended the visitors' cushion to 36-23 with 29 seconds before the break.

In the third stanza, St. Joe's essentially put the game to rest by outscoring the Mariners by a 25-16 margin, an effort that included an 18-7 scoring outburst spanning the better part of the penultimate quarter.

The Monks extended their lead to a game-high 34 points (80-46) after freshman Jordan Jabar (Waterville, Maine) converted a traditional three-point play with 2:55 remaining.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• In addition to her game-high point total, Champagne contributed five assists, four boards, and three steals
• Junior guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) was 4-10 from three-point distance and tallied 17 points and six rebounds
• Junior forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) went 7-10 from the floor with 16 points and five caroms
• Senior forward Regan McFerran (Albany, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) chipped in with 10 points apiece

LEADERS – MAINE MARITIME:

• Alayne Felix (Mahopac, N.Y.) paced the hosts with 16 points and pulled down five rebounds
• Emily Melick (Sudbury, Mass.) added seven points and a pair of assists
• Megan McLean (Eliot, Maine) dished out six assists with five boards and three points

TEAM STATS:

The Monks held advantages in rebounds (33-24), assists (27-20), points off turnovers (29-9), second-chance points (14-4), and points in the paint (38-24) in the victory. The Mariners posted a 21-18 edge in bench points in a losing effort.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-4 in the history of the series with Maine Maritime Academy and has now defeated the Mariners in seven-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2010-11 campaign. The Monks are now 28-14 (.667), including a 20-5 (.800) mark under Head Coach Mike McDevitt, in season-openers

NEXT!

The Monks will play a pair of games in the Keene State College Tip-Off Tournament this weekend, starting with a Friday night (6:00 PM) game versus Babson College.

#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.