NASHUA, NH - Rivier College (13-5, 5-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (9-10, 2-4), 70-66, in GNAC women's hoops action on Thursday evening. Alysn Ludwig '09 (Waldoboro, ME) scored a game and season-high 17 points and added eight rebounds and six assists in the losing effort.

The teams exchanged blows in the opening 14 minutes, with the lead changing hands nine times and the contest being scored on six occasions, with the final deadlock being 18-18 with 6:22 to play before intermission. The Raiders went on a 15-2 run to stake a 33-20 lead with 1:59 left in the half before St. Joe's countered with five unanswered points to cut the deficit to a more manageable eight points, 33-25, heading into the locker room.

The Raiders maintained at least an eight-point cushion for the opening minutes of the second stanza and led 43-33 with 14:46 to play. A three-pointer from Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) three minutes later capped a 7-0 surge by St. Joe's and narrowed the Rivier lead to 43-40.

Saint Joseph's, trailing 48-42 with 9:39 remaining, mounted yet another run to take their first lead of the second half. A layup from Kayla Boston ‘11 (North Berwick, ME) gave her team a 54-52 advantage and another layup by Ashley Geel ‘12 (St. George, ME), set up by a Boston steal, seconds later capped a 14-4 surge with St. Joe's holding a 56-52 lead and 5:29 to play.

Jessica Mellen ‘10 (Rockland, MA) sank four straight free throws to tie the contest at 56-apiece with 3:55 on the game clock and Blair Carpenter ‘10 (Meredith, NH) netted a layup 19 seconds later to provide her squad with a two-point lead. Geel hit a jumper to once again tie the contest, but Mellen found her way to the hoop and converted a layup to give her team a slim 60-58 advantage with 2:52 left.

With the Raiders on top, 65-60, and 1:39 remaining, St. Joe's made one last push for the victory. Allison Miner ‘10 (Pembroke, NH) made a layup, was fouled, and hit the freebie for the three-point play and Freeman drilled her fourth three of the contest to lift the Lady Monks to a 66-65 lead with 58 seconds remaining.

Rivier was able to hold off Saint Joseph's, outscoring the Lady Monks 5-0 in the closing seconds as Allie Parent ‘12 (Camden, ME) made a layup and Monica White ‘10 (Augusta, ME) connected on three freebies to preserve a 70-66 victory for the host-Raiders.

For St. Joe's, Freeman netted four three-pointers and added 16 points while Geel scored 13 points. Miner added nine points and seven caroms while Casey Drake ‘11 (Lebanon, NH) tallied five assists.

For Rivier, Carpenter and Justine Nims ‘09 (Weare, NH) both scored 16 points and White added 15. Mellen chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Saint Joseph's outshot Rivier, 46.6% (27-58) to 35.3% (24-68) from the field and also outworked the hosts on the glass, 39-31 in the loss. The Lady Monks made 45.5% (5-11) of their attempts from three-point range against 34.5% by the Raiders, who hoisted 29 shots from beyond the arc in the contest, making 10.

Saint Joseph's will host Emerson College in a GNAC contest on Saturday, January 31st at 1:00 PM.


Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Rivier
01/29/09 6:00 PM at Nashua, NH (Muldoon HFC)
At Nashua, NH (Muldoon HFC)
RIVIER 70, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 66
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (9-10(2-4))
Alysn Ludwig 7-11 3-4 17; Carolyn Freeman 6-16 0-0 16; Ashley Geel 6-9 0-0
13; Allison Miner 3-10 3-3 9; Meghan Daigle 2-8 0-0 4; Kayla Nowell 1-1 1-2
3; Casey Drake 1-2 0-0 2; Kayla Boston 1-1 0-0 2; Andrea Enright 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 27-58 7-9 66.
RIVIER (13-5 (5-1))
Justine Nims 6-14 0-0 16; Blair Carpenter 5-18 3-4 16; Monica White 4-10 5-6
15; Jessica Mellen 3-9 4-4 10; Kelsy LaRose 2-2 0-0 5; Allie Parent 2-8 0-0
4; Danielle Stoodley 1-5 0-0 2; Steph Adams 1-2 0-0 2; Stacey Laine 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 24-68 12-14 70.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 25 41 - 66
Rivier........................ 33 37 - 70
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 5-11 (Carolyn Freeman 4-7; Ashley Geel
1-3; Meghan Daigle 0-1), Rivier 10-29 (Justine Nims 4-7; Blair Carpenter
3-14; Monica White 2-4; Kelsy LaRose 1-1; Danielle Stoodley 0-2; Allie
Parent 0-1). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Rivier-None. Rebounds--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 39 (Alysn Ludwig 8), Rivier 31 (Jessica Mellen 8).
Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 20 (Alysn Ludwig 6), Rivier 18 (Allie Parent 8).
Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 14, Rivier 9. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None, Rivier-None.