CASTINE, ME - Endicott College (4-3) defeated Saint Joseph's (6-3) by a 89-62 score in the Maine Maritime Tournament opener on Saturday afternoon. Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) led the way for St. Joe's with 13 points and eight boards while Sarah Fournier '11 (Jay, ME) chipped in with 11 points in the losing effort.

Nicole Duchesne'09 (Plaistow, NH) led five Gulls players who reached double-digits with a game-high 22 points while Ashley Wright '11 (Merrimack, NH) netted 18 points off a 4-6 effort from beyond the arc and also grabbed six steals in the win.

Endiott jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three minutes of play as the Gulls converted four of five shot attempts to take the early advantage.

Unfortunately for the Royal Blue, the trend continued as Endicott, aided by a 54.5% shooting rate from the floor and an even more impressive seven of eleven three-point performance, went on to build a lead as high as 28 points, 47-19, with 2:29 before the break. Scoring leaders Duchesne and Wright combined to score 29 points in the opening frame.

A glimmer of hope came when St. Joe's posted a 10-3 run to close out the half and cut the Gulls' lead to 21 points.

Endicott would not allow St. Joe's to get to get back into the game, however. The Gulls shooters cooled to a 44.8% effort from the field in the latter stanza, but the Lady Monks' 33.3% performance fell short in their comeback attempt.

Endicott outrebounded Saint Joseph's by a 44-36 tally and forced 15 SJC turnovers while committing just seven in the victory. The three-point shooting proved to be a major difference in the contest, as the Lady Monks were held to a 3-19 (15.8%) effort while the Gulls posted a healthy 10-19 (52.6%) performance.

Fournier accounted for all three of the SJC treys and Kayla Nowell '11 (Bridgton, ME) tallied nine points and six rebounds in 10 minutes of play off the bench. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) had six points, three rebounds and two blocks for Saint Joseph's.

Saint Joseph's will play the University of Maine at Fort Kent in the 1:00 PM tournament consolation game while Endicott will challenge host Maine Maritime, who defeated UMFK 50-45 in Saturday's nightcap, at 3:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs EC
12/13/18 1pm at Castine, ME
At Castine, ME
EC 89, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 62
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (6-2)
Meghan Daigle 4-12 5-9 13; Sarah Fournier 4-6 0-0 11; Kayla Nowell 3-5 3-3
9; Ashley Geel 2-7 2-2 6; Carolyn Freeman 2-9 1-1 5; Kayla Boston 2-3 0-0 4;
Alysn Ludwig 2-6 0-0 4; Megan McDevitt 2-7 0-0 4; Erin Cartwright 1-5 0-0 2;
Casey Drake 0-1 2-2 2; Allison Miner 1-5 0-0 2; Andrea Enright 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 23-67 13-17 62.
EC (4-3)
Nicole Duchesne 7-14 7-12 22; Ashley Wright 7-12 0-0 18; Brittany Kelleher
5-6 3-3 13; Ashley Vitale 5-8 1-2 11; Jenna Cosgrove 3-4 3-4 11; Nicole
Young 1-5 3-4 6; Kaylin Burke 2-6 0-0 5; Kate Kovach 1-5 0-0 3; Catie Cullen
0-0 0-0 0; Rachel Hewes 0-2 0-0 0; Nicole Heffernan 0-0 0-0 0; Kristen
Petreyko 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 17-25 89.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 31 31 - 62
EC............................ 52 37 - 89
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-19 (Sarah Fournier 3-5; Ashley Geel 0-3;
Carolyn Freeman 0-2; Megan McDevitt 0-5; Erin Cartwright 0-1; Casey Drake
0-1; Meghan Daigle 0-2), EC 10-19 (Ashley Wright 4-6; Jenna Cosgrove 2-2;
Nicole Duchesne 1-3; Kate Kovach 1-3; Nicole Young 1-2; Kaylin Burke 1-3).
Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-Meghan Daigle, EC-None. Rebounds--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 36 (Meghan Daigle 8), EC 44 (Nicole Young 9). Assists--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 10 (Kayla Boston 3), EC 18 (Kaylin Burke 4; Nicole Duchesne
4; Ashley Wright 4). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 19, EC 15. Technical
fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, EC-None.