STANDISH, Maine –Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (17-8, 9-2 GNAC) will host #7 Johnson & Wales University (13-12, 5-6 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.
OVERVIEW
Tuesday night's victor advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will face the winner of another quarterfinal matchup - #6 Colby-Sawyer at #3 Regis – on Thursday evening, tip-off TBD. The higher seed serves as host throughout tourney play.
The other branch of the bracket features quarterfinal contests between #8 Norwich University at #1 Emmanuel College and #5 Albertus Magnus College at #4 Suffolk University.
The winner of the GNAC Championship game, which will be played on Saturday, February 29th, earns an automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 8th.
SEASON AT A GLANCE
Saint Joseph's:
- The Monks won 10 of their last 12 games and have not lost at home since falling to Worcester State University, 87-81, on January 7th
- Saint Joseph's leads the GNAC in three-point field goal percentage (31.6) and features three out of the top five three-point shooters in the conference
- The Monks also rank first in free throw percentage (71.6%), second in opponents' 3PT percentage (25.3%) and three-pointers made per game (6.8), and third in assists per game (14.9) and opponents' field goal percentage (34.2%)
- Six different SJC players are scoring at least 6.0 points per game
- St. Joe's averages 70.2 PPG at the Harold Alfond Center and is 8-2 overall at home this winter
Johnson & Wales:
- The Wildcats are 5-7 in their last 12 games but enter the tourney having won three of their last four conference contests
- JWU ranks third in the GNAC in field goal attempts per game (63.5) and defensive rebounds per game (30.3), and fourth in three-point percentage (27.3%), rebounds per game (43.7), and fewest fouls per game (16)
- Five different Wildcats are averaging at least 6.0 PPG with three contributing north of 10.0 PPG
- Johnson & Wales is 5-5 and averaging 52.8 PPG in road games this season
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Saint Joseph's:
- (#33) Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) leads the Monks with 11.8 points per game and contributes 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest; the first-year starter ranks second in the GNAC in three-point percentage (35.8%, 48-134) and three-pointers made (48)
- (#12) Junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) is averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game and ranks fifth in the conference in three pointers made (44) and three-point percentage (33.1%)
- (#5) Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) is contributing 8.4 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game and ranks third in the conference in three-point shooting percentage (34.1%) and second in free throw shooting percentage (81.0%)
Johnson & Wales:
- (#22) Senior guard Britney Gallagher (New City, N.Y.) leads the Wildcats in scoring (13.2 PPG) and three point shooting percentage (31.6%) and ranks as the conference leader in FT shooting percentage (85.5%, 89-106)
- (#10) Senior guard Tiondra Hands is averaging 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per contest and ranks fourth in the GNAC in three-pointers made (47)
- (#55) Senior center Maddy Moro is scoring 11.2 points per game and is third in the conference in rebounding average (11.7) and total rebounds (292) and sixth in field goal percentage (45.6%, 123-270)
ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:
Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (573-203, .738) - 28th collegiate season
Among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, McDevitt ranks 13th among active coaches in victories and 18th in winning percentage. Only two coaches in New England have more wins and three (10+ years) have a higher win rate.
During his tenure at Saint Joseph's, Coach McDevitt has guided the Monks to at least 20 wins in 18 different seasons, the seventh-highest total in the history of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, with 18 championships. During his career, McDevitt has garnered 14 'Coach of the Year' accolades, including GNAC top coach honors last season.
Johnson & Wales: Kim Dweck (34-42, .447) – third collegiate season
Dweck, hired as the JWU head coach prior to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, has guided the Wildcats to three GNAC Tournament berths in as many seasons at the helm. Prior to her time at Johnson & Wales, Dweck served stints as an assistant coach for Robert Morris University (three years) and Rhode Island College (one year).
Dweck played collegiately for NCAA DI program New Jersey Institute of Technology and garnered All-Conference Honorable Mention honors following her senior season.
THE LAST TIME WE MET:
The Monks trailed by a 44-38 margin early the third quarter but rallied with eight unanswered points and held a 46-44 lead after sophomore Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) capped the run with a three-pointer with 1:45 left in the penultimate period.
The conference rivals swapped the lead twice during the closing minutes of the third frame, but the hosts took the final swing with a 20-4 run that began late in the third and ended when senior Lexi L'Heureux-Carland (Bridgton, Maine) hit a layup to make it a 66-50 game with 1:28 remaining.
Fillion netted 21 points with four boards and Philippon came off the bench to score 16 points with nine rebounds in just 19 minutes in the victory. For the Wildcats, Gallagher scored a game-high 28 points and Hands added 11 points and four assists in the setback.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is 13-6 in the history of the series with Johnson & Wales and has defeated the Wildcats in seven-consecutive meetings.
GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
The Monks have appeared in the GNAC Tournament in 12 of 13 seasons as a member of the conference and claimed the program's first GNAC Championship in 2014, when the Royal Blue defeated Norwich University, 63-47, in the title game at the Alfond Center on March 1st, 2014.
Including the 2014 title, Saint Joseph's has won four conference championships including three in the last four years.
The Monks are 17-1 at home – and 18-7 overall - in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.
In the midst of their 20th GNAC Tournament run, the Wildcats notched a playoff victory in four-consecutive seasons (2014-17) before suffering a first-round setback at the hands of Suffolk University in 2018. JWU has advanced to the semifinal round seven times since joining the GNAC in 1996 and played in two GNAC Championship games with a conference crown in 2015.
Johnson & Wales is 9-19 all-time in GNAC postseason play.
