STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (15-7, 7-1 GNAC) trailed by as many as 13 points early but rallied with dominant second and fourth quarters to defeat UMaine-Fort Kent (12-12) by 30 points, 85-55, in a non-conference women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Monday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After shooting just 10.5% (2-19) in the first quarter, the Monks faced a 17-6 deficit heading into the second stanza but turned things around in the second stanza with a 64.7% (11-17) clip from the field. St. Joe's outscored UMFK by a 30-15 margin in the second frame and held a 36-32 edge heading into intermission.
The Bengals managed to tie the game on two occasions early in the third period, but the Monks clung to a seven-point cushion (59-52) heading into the fourth frame. Saint Joseph's put together a dominant final quarter, holding UMFK to just 1-for-18 shooting from the floor en route to posting a 26-3 fourth quarter advantage and securing what played out to be a lopsided victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in field goals made (28-21), free throws made (23-8), rebounds (55-36), assists (21-12), second-chance points (21-12), points in the paint (40-16), and bench points (29-5) in the triumph…The Monks outscored the Bengals by a 79-38 margin over the final three quarters of play.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) poured in a game-and-career-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field while making all seven of her free throw attempts; she also dealt four assists
- Junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) netted 14 points
- Junior guard Jordan Jabar (Waterville, Maine) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds with six points and three assists and a pair of blocked shots
- Senior forward Lexi L'Heureux-Carland (Bridgton, Maine) came off the bench to register nine points, seven rebounds, and four assists
- Freshman guard Bri Jordan (Gray, Maine) chipped in with eight points and six boards
- Sophomore guard Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) added eight points and four rebounds
LEADERS – UMAINE-FORT KENT:
- Junior guard Stephanie Cervantes (Dinuba, Calif.) picked up a double-double with 17 points (8-11, 73%) and 12 rebounds
- Junior guard Ranika Guyton (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) tallied 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals
- Junior guard Keri La (Daly City, Calif.) contributed 10 points and three assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 20-3 in the history of the series with UMaine-Fort Kent and has now defeated the Bengals in five-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2011-12 campaign. SJC defeated UMFK by a 76-54 score in Standish last winter.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will travel to Boston on Saturday to face Emmanuel College in a rematch of the 2019 GNAC Championship contest. The conference tilt is slated to begin at 3:00 PM.