PAXTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (17-4, 11-2 GNAC) held off Anna Maria College (3-16, 2-11 GNAC), 85-73, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's held the lead for all but the game's first possession, as senior guard Franchesca Hammond (Worcester, Mass.) hit a three-pointer on the AMCATS' first trip down the floor, but the Monks countered with 12 unanswered points over the following four minutes to gain an advantage they would not relinquish.
St. Joe's led by a 43-30 margin going into intermission and amassed a game-high 22-point lead (62-40) after senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) hit a three with 2:48 left in the third quarter. Anna Maria posted a 19-9 run late in the fourth quarter to make it a 78-67 game with 2:34 left, but the Monks went 4-for-4 from the FT line in the closing minutes and sophomore guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) hit a three-pointer with 1:03 remaining to keep the hosts at bay.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks held a 24-5 lead in bench points and shot 76.9% (10-13) – opposed to the AMCATS' 50% (7-14) rate – from the FT line.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- For just the seventh time since NCAA Women's Basketball switched from halves to quarters in 2015 (a span of 173 games), the Monks scored at least 20 points in each quarter in tonight's victory. The last time SJC accomplished this feat was in a 105-68 win over Rivier University on January 31st, 2019.
- Tonight's contest was the Monks' sixth game in the last 10 days
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Stapelfeld netted 29 points – her highest point total in 55 games as a Monk - with six rebounds in the victory; as a sophomore at Simmons in 2019, she scored a career-high 42 points in a 76-59 win over University of Saint Joseph (1/29/19)
- Sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) tallied 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals
- Sophomore guard Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) scored 11 points
- Senior forward Kaleigh Walsh (Windham, N.H.) added 1- points and nine rebounds
- Senior guard Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) pulled down 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass
- Nina Howe chipped in with seven points, six caroms, and three assists
LEADERS – ANNA MARIA:
- Freshman forward Marinique Reddin (Tampa, Fla.) tallied 21 points, eight rebounds, and five blocked shots
- Hammond scored 20 points with four assists, three boards, and two steals
- Sophomore guard Chloe Giordano (Goffstown, N.H.) chipped in with 13 points
- Senior guard Mariah Carey (Worcester, Mass.) contributed 12 points and four steals
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-0 in the history of the series with Anna Maria College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Johnson & Wales University on Saturday in a conference contest slated to start at 1:00 PM.
