STANDISH, Maine – Senior Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) and sophomore Grace Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) both posted double-doubles to help Saint Joseph's College (15-7, 11-0 GNAC) defeat Emmanuel College (10-11, 7-3 GNAC), 64-48, in a rematch of the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball championship at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks opened the game with a 12-2 run and led from wire to wire in tonight's rivalry matchup. Saint Joseph's held a 21-9 advantage early in the second quarter, but Emmanuel rallied with a 17-7 surge to cut the deficit down to just two points (28-26) at intermission.
Halftime adjustments loomed large for the Monks, who dominated the third quarter to the tune of a 20-6 score, as the Saints shot just 14.3% (2-14) from the floor in what proved to be a decisive penultimate period. Sophomore Madison Lebel (Hermon, Maine) led the hosts with seven points in the third frame.
The Monks went on to claim a game-high 18-point (56-38) cushion when Lebel drilled a three-pointer with 6:25 left in the fourth quarter.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks went 10-for-22 from three-point distance while the Saints missed all five of their shots from beyond the arc in the losing effort…Saint Joseph's scored 16 points off 20 Emmanuel turnovers while the Saints turned 16 SJC turnovers into just five points.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Ramsdell scored a game-high 19 points with 10 rebounds, four steals, and a pair of assists
- Hurley tallied 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals
- Lebel contributed 11 points and four rebounds
- Sophomore guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) added eight points, four assists, two boards, and a pair of assists
LEADERS – EMMANUEL:
- Kiera Eubanks led the visitors with 17 points and 12 rebounds
- Meagan Schuermann came off the bench to net 11 points with five rebounds and two assists
- Desiree Robinson added five points and eight rebounds
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 9-22 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College and has defeated the Saints in consecutive meetings since the Monks won five straight over their conference rivals.
For the Monks, tonight's winning margin is tied for the most in the team's nine wins over Emmanuel. St. Joe's defeated Emmanuel by the same amount in an 83-67 victory in Standish on January 17th, 2023.
For the Saints, tonight's point total is the fewest scored versus the Monks since suffering a 60-47 setback in Boston on January 7th, 2010.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Mitchell College on Saturday in a GNAC contest set to start at 1:00 PM. The Monks will celebrate the team's four seniors – Hurley, Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.), Nina Howe (York, Maine), and Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) – with a brief ceremony before tip-off.
