WEST HARTFORD, CT - Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) posted her second career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds to help Saint Joseph's College (12-10, 5-4 GNAC) defeat conference foe Saint Joseph College (CT) on Saturday, 59-43. Kayla Nowell '11 (Bridgton, ME) added a season-high 15 points and Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) contributed with 10 points and eight caroms in the win. Ilaria Schiano 11 (Wallingford, CT) led the hosts with 10 points.

Saint Joseph (CT) opened the game on 7-0 run, but Daigle's first bucket of the contest initiated a 17-3 surge that saw the Lady Monks gain a 17-12 lead with 9:37 to play in the first half. Daigle and Nowell combined to net 11 points during the SJC run.

Trailing 24-16 after a layup from Geel, the Blue Jays posted another 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 24-23 with 2:52 before the break. Daigle went on to make four free throws in the final minutes and Saint Joseph (CT) guard Nathalie Masterreno ‘11 (Glastonbury, CT) countered with a jumper to make the score 28-25, Lady Monks, going into the locker rooms.

St. Joe's led 35-29 3:09 into the second stanza after Daigle finished a Casey Drake ‘11 (Lebanon, NH) feed with a layup, but the pesky Blue Jays remained in the contest for the time being, as Sarah Phillips ‘12 (Portland, CT) made shots on consecutive Saint Joseph (CT) possessions to cut the Lady Monks' lead to 35-33 over a minute later.

Nowell put her team up by four on the next Royal Blue possession, but Blue Jays guard Leanna Pratt ‘10 (Watertown, CT) hit a shot from beyond the arc to make it a one-point game, 37-36. Nowell offset the Pratt trey with one of her own 15 seconds later to give her team a four-point cushion with 13:10 remaining.

Nowell and Saint Joseph (CT) guard Michelle Fillion ‘12 (Killingworth, CT) exchanged three-pointers two minutes later to keep it a two-possession contest, but Nowell, a first-year player, answered the call once again with a layup that jumpstarted a 16-4 Lady Monks run, which spanned the remainder of the contest and secured a win for the Royal Blue.

The Lady Monks held a commanding 57-31 advantage on the glass, as five St. Joe's players grabbed six or more boards in the win, and were particularly effective on the offensive side with 26 offensive rebounds.

For St. Joe's, Drake notched six points, six boards and five dimes and Allison Miner ‘10 (Pembroke, NH) had six rebounds. Megan McDevitt ‘12 (Cumberland, ME) made her first collegiate start in the victory.

For Saint Joseph (CT), Mastarreno had nine points, Phillips scored eight and Gina Morales ‘09 (East Hartford, CT) grabbed eight boards and dealt five assists.

Saint Joseph's will play at Norwich University on Saturday, February 14th in a 3:00 PM GNAC contest, while Saint Joseph (CT) is set to host Suffolk University at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, February 10th.

Newspaper Box Score
Saint Joseph's College (Me.) vs Saint Joseph College (Conn.)
02/07/09 1:00 p.m. at West Hartford, Conn.-- O'Connell Center
At West Hartford, Conn.-- O'Connell Center
SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (ME.) 59, SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE (CONN.) 43
SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (ME.) (12-10, 5-4 GNAC)
Meghan Daigle 9-17 4-6 22; Kayla Nowell 6-9 1-2 15; Ashley Geel 4-7 0-0 10;
Casey Drake 2-7 2-2 6; Megan McDevitt 1-10 0-0 3; Allison Miner 1-6 0-0 2;
Alysn Ludwig 0-1 1-2 1; Andrea Enright 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah Fournier 0-0 0-0 0;
Kayla Boston 0-6 0-0 0; Amelia Lamb 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-65 8-12 59.
SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE (CONN.) (3-18, 1-8 GNAC)
Ilaria Schiano 4-12 2-2 10; Nathalie Mastarreno 4-16 0-0 9; Sarah Phillips
4-8 0-0 8; Michelle Fillion 2-7 0-0 6; Leanna Pratt 1-6 1-2 4; Allison
Richards 2-2 0-0 4; Gina Morales 1-10 0-0 2; Ternise Barrett 0-0 0-0 0;
Ta'kira Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-61 3-4 43.
Saint Joseph's College (Me.).. 28 31 - 59
Saint Joseph College (Conn.).. 25 18 - 43
3-point goals--Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 5-15 (Kayla Nowell 2-3; Ashley
Geel 2-2; Megan McDevitt 1-8; Casey Drake 0-1; Meghan Daigle 0-1), Saint
Joseph College (Conn.) 4-21 (Michelle Fillion 2-7; Nathalie Mastarreno 1-7;
Leanna Pratt 1-5; Ilaria Schiano 0-2). Fouled out--Saint Joseph's College
(Me.)-None, Saint Joseph College (Conn.)-None. Rebounds--Saint Joseph's
College (Me.) 57 (Meghan Daigle 12), Saint Joseph College (Conn.) 31 (Gina
Morales 8). Assists--Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 13 (Casey Drake 5), Saint
Joseph College (Conn.) 11 (Gina Morales 5). Total fouls--Saint Joseph's
College (Me.) 10, Saint Joseph College (Conn.) 10. Technical fouls--Saint
Joseph's College (Me.)-None, Saint Joseph College (Conn.)-None. A-213