Monks Fight Past Pride, Improve to 13-0

Monks Fight Past Pride, Improve to 13-0

WESTON, Mass. - #10/14 Saint Joseph's College (13-0, 1-0 GNAC) opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a 77-65 victor at Regis College (4-9, 0-1 GNAC) on Tuesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Trailing 22-16 following a sluggish first quarter, the Monks faced an eight-point deficit (27-19) three minutes into the second frame before rattling off 14 unanswered points as part of a 23-5 run, which saw the visitors carry a 42-32 advantage into intermission.

Saint Joseph's, ranked 10th and 14th in this week's D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association national polls, respectively, went on to lead by a game-high 14 points (50-36) after senior forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) made a layup at the 4:31 mark of the third quarter. But the Pride refused to go down easily, as the hosts managed to cut the SJC cushion down to 62-57 after freshman Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) hit a shot with 7:24 remaining.

The Monks maintained a single-digit edge until a Benway free throw made it a 71-61 game with 50 seconds on the clock and senior guards Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) and Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) combined to go 6-6 from the charity stripe in the closing 40 seconds to clinch the victory.

With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-0 for just the second time in program history. The 1998-99 team also opened the season with 13 straight victories.

STATS OF THE GAME:

St. Joe's scored 20 points off 17 Regis turnovers while the Pride netted 11 points off eight SJC turnovers…The Monks posted a 21-12 advantage in bench points.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

  • Champagne netted 18 points and was 6-6 from the FT line with six rebounds and three assists
  • McNamara notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists and added four boards and three steals
  • Freshman Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) scored a career-high 13 points and was 5-7 from the field, including a 3-4 effort from downtown
  • Sophomore Jordan Jabar (Waterville, Maine) added 10 points and a pair of rebounds
  • Benway pulled down 13 rebounds and scored seven points

LEADERS – REGIS:

  • Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) scored a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds
  • Nikki Bitinaltis (Cromwell, Conn.) added 14 points, six assists, and three boards
  • Searcy grabbed 13 caroms with two blocks and four points

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-1 all-time versus Regis College and has now defeated the Pride in three-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Albertus Magnus College on Thursday in a GNAC matchup slated to start at 5:30 PM.

 

#GOMONKS

 

Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram!

SIGN UP to receive email alerts about your favorite SJC teams!

Founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, Saint Joseph’s College is Maine’s Catholic liberal arts college in the Mercy tradition. We are inclusive of all faiths, including no faith. The 474-acre campus, located on the shore of Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine offers more than 40 undergraduate programs and a Division III athletic program to a population of approximately 1,000 on-campus students. A pioneer of distance education since the 1970s, the College also provides online certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees for thousands more working adults who reside in more than 20 other countries. In 2015 the College was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its Community Engagement Classification, highlighting the College’s focus on community service throughout its mission and daily interactions within local, regional, and global communities. In 2018, Princeton Review recognized SJC as one of its “Green Colleges” for its sustainability initiatives. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu.