STANDISH, Maine – The first NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Regional Rankings have been released and Saint Joseph's College is listed fourth in the Northeast Region.
As of February 8th, Saint Joseph's – led by 26th-year Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 - is 21-1 overall with a 13-0 record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. The Monks broke the program's winning streak record with their 18th-consecutive victory – a 66-45 triumph over Regis (Mass.) – on February 1st and have extended the streak to 20 games with decisive wins over University of Saint Joseph and Suffolk University.
The Monks' win streak is the third-longest active streak in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball. #1 Amherst College has won 55-consecutive games while Wartburg College and Whitman College have both posted 21-game winning streaks. Saint Joseph's has not suffered a setback since falling to Babson College in the Keene State Tip-Off Tournament on November 17th.
Saint Joseph's, winners of the last two GNAC Championships, has also won 32-consecutive home games – the third-longest string of home victories behind Rose-Hulman (34) and Amherst (33).
Three nationally-ranked teams sit ahead of the Monks in the first regional ranking release, as #1 Amherst College (22-0) – the reigning national champion, #4 Bowdoin College (21-1) and #10 Tufts University (20-3) fill the top slots in the Northeast.
Roger Williams University (18-3), UMass.-Dartmouth (17-3), Smith College (16-5), Middlebury College (16-6), Wesleyan College (14-6), Connecticut College (13-7), Castleton University (17-3), and Springfield College (17-5) round out the top 12 teams in the region.
Saint Joseph's currently ranks fifth nationally in winning percentage (.955), fifth in scoring margin (25.4), seventh in three-point field goals made (185), and 10th in assists (395), three-point field goals per game (8.4), and three-point field goal percentage (36.6%).
The Monks have three regular-season conference games remaining, starting with a 2:00 PM contest at Albertus Magnus College on Saturday. St. Joe's hosts Lasell College Tuesday at 5:30 PM and Norwich University on Saturday, February 17th at 1:00 PM. The GNAC Tournament begins on Tuesday, February 20th.
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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.
