KEY LARGO, FL - Nichols College (9-2) defeated Saint Joseph's (7-6), 58-48, in the championship game of the First Annual Key Largo Classic Tournament on Sunday evening. The contest was knotted at 27 apiece going into halftime, but Nichols, down by six with 7:54 to play, mounted a 16-0 run to close the game and seal the victory. All-Tournament Team selection Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) scored 19 points to lead St. Joe's in the loss.

Jessica Nelson ‘10 (North Providence, RI) led the Bison with a double-double effort of 20 points and 14 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team, while tourney MVP MaryLynn Skarzenski ‘09 (Woodbridge, NJ) netted 12 points and eight boards in the title contest. Nichols stretched their winning streak to eight games with the victory.

Nichols opened the game with a 7-2 run, but St. Joe's countered with a 10-2 surge, capped by an Ashley Geel ‘12 (St. George, ME) layup, that saw the Lady Monks take their first lead, 12-11, with 9:11 remaining in the first.

The Bison managed to maintain a lead until the closing minutes of the opening stanza, when Daigle scored four points in the final 90 seconds to knot the contest at 27 heading into the break.

St. Joe's and Nichols swapped leads on several occasions, and six times overall in the second half, in the opening minutes of the closing period. The Lady Monks established their largest lead, 43-37, after Kayla Boston ‘11 (North Berwick, ME) made a pair of freebies to cap an 8-2 run with 9:29 remaining. Daigle was 3-3 from the charity stripe and scored five points in the SJC surge.

Unfortunately for St. Joe's, the lead would not stand. The Bison outscored the Lady Monks 31-5 in the remainder of the contest and closed the game with a 16-0 run to capture a 10 point victory and the tournament championship. Nichols made 10 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe during the run.

For St. Joe's, Boston netted eight points, Geel chipped in with six points, five boards and two blocked shots, Allison Miner ‘10 (Pembroke, NH) grabbed seven rebounds and Carolyn Freeman ‘10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) tallied six points, five rebounds and two blocks.

For Nichols, Lilly posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Michele Guerin ‘11 (Chicopee, MA) added eight points.

Saint Joseph's will host Johnson & Wales in the team's conference opener on Saturday, January 10th at 1:00 PM while Nichols returns home to host Union College on Wednesday, January 7th at 7:00 PM.


Newspaper Box Score
Nichols College vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
01/04/09 5:00 pm at Coral Shores High School - Key Largo, FL
At Coral Shores High School - Key Largo, FL
NICHOLS COLLEGE 58, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 48
NICHOLS COLLEGE (8-2)
Jessica Nelson 8-22 4-6 20; MaryLynn Skarzenski 4-15 1-2 12; Margaret Lilly
3-5 4-7 10; Michele Guerin 2-5 4-6 8; Ashley Robidoux 2-10 0-0 5; Alena
Jasinski 1-4 0-0 3; Curtia Humbert 0-1 0-0 0; Lyndsey Bennett 0-2 0-0 0;
Andrea Ferris 0-0 0-0 0; Chelsea Shaughnessy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 13-21
58.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (7-5)
Meghan Daigle 6-16 7-8 19; Kayla Boston 3-4 2-2 8; Carolyn Freeman 2-10 1-2
6; Ashley Geel 3-6 0-1 6; Casey Drake 1-4 2-2 4; Allison Miner 1-3 1-2 3;
Megan McDevitt 1-7 0-0 2; Sarah Fournier 0-0 0-0 0; Kayla Nowell 0-0 0-0 0;
Amelia Lamb 0-1 0-0 0; Alysn Ludwig 0-4 0-2 0. Totals 17-55 13-19 48.
Nichols College............... 27 31 - 58
St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 27 21 - 48
3-point goals--Nichols College 5-15 (MaryLynn Skarzenski 3-8; Alena Jasinski
1-2; Ashley Robidoux 1-3; Curtia Humbert 0-1; Margaret Lilly 0-1), St.
Joseph's (Me.) 1-9 (Carolyn Freeman 1-4; Kayla Boston 0-1; Megan McDevitt
0-2; Amelia Lamb 0-1; Alysn Ludwig 0-1). Fouled out--Nichols College-None,
St. Joseph's (Me.)-Carolyn Freeman. Rebounds--Nichols College 45 (Jessica
Nelson 14), St. Joseph's (Me.) 43 (Meghan Daigle 9). Assists--Nichols
College 10 (Margaret Lilly 3), St. Joseph's (Me.) 6 (Meghan Daigle 2). Total
fouls--Nichols College 16, St. Joseph's (Me.) 17. Technical fouls--Nichols
College-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None.