STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (25-1) defeated #8 Mount Ida College (13-13), 83-54, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball tournament quarterfinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening.

With the victory, the Monks extend their winning streak to 24 games and break the SJC Athletics record for longest streak, which was originally set in 1999 when the men's basketball team rattled off 23 straight wins.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With tonight's win, Saint Joseph's advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will host #5 Albertus Magnus College, which posted an upset victory over #4 Regis (Mass.) in other quarterfinal action this evening, on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

For Mount Ida, tonight's result signals the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks shook off a sluggish start with an 18-5 run encapsulating the latter five minutes of the first quarter and held a 26-12 cushion going into the second stanza.

Trailing 44-25 at the break, the Mustangs attempted to mount a comeback early in the third frame, but the Monks essentially put the game away with an 11-2 run, capped by a pair of Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) layups with the hosts holding a 63-39 advantage.

St. Joe's went on to claim a game-high 29-point cushion when Champagne converted a layup lifting her team to a 73-44 lead with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks held a 43-22 lead in rebounds and, subsequently, posted a 44-10 points in the paint advantage. St. Joe's overcame a lack of ball security (24 turnovers) by shooting 57.4% (31-54) from the field, the team's second-highest percentage of the season (SJC shot 60% (42-70) versus Rivier on December 9th).

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) netted 26 points with seven assists, three rebounds, and a pair of steals
• Champagne notched a very efficient offensive contest, going 9-10 from the floor – including 3-3 from downtown – en route to scoring 22 points with six boards, three steals, and a pair of assists
• Junior forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) tallied 10 points and six caroms
• Junior guard Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine) added six points and five rebounds

LEADERS – MOUNT IDA:

• Sophomore forward Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) scored a team-high 14 points with three assists
• Senior forward Imani Bumpus (Dedham, Mass.) posted an impressive line with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and six steals

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-1 all-time versus Mount Ida College and has now defeated the Mustangs in 11-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2007-08 campaign.

#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.