STANDISH, ME - Meagan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME/Greely) sank a 15-foot jumpshot as time expired to lift Saint Joseph's (1-0) to a 68-66 victory over Maine-Fort Kent (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Harold Alfond Center. SJC forward Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) led all scorers with a career-best 22 points in the season opener, which featured thirteen lead changes.

A pair of Bengals, Ashley Ames ‘09 (Dexter, ME) and Kristen Violette ‘10 (Fort Kent, ME) registered double-double efforts in the loss. Ames, 7-13 from the floor and 7-10 from the charity stripe, netted 21 points and 11 boards and Violette notched 16 points and 11 rebounds.

For St. Joe's, Carolyn Freeman ‘10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and teammate Kayla Boston ‘11 (North Berwick, ME) pitched in with a career-high 12 points on a 6-8 shooting performance.

The opening half displayed a pair of evenly matched teams, as neither squad was able to muster more than a four-point advantage before intermission, with visiting Bengals ahead at the break 32-30.

Saint Joseph's started the second period with a 7-0 run off a pair of Daigle jumpers and a three-pointer from Freeman 1:45 into the half to lift the Royal Blue to the largest lead of the game, 37-32. Fort Kent fought back with an 8-0 streak of their own as Angela Norsworthy ‘11 (Presque Isle, ME) netted three points and Ames nailed a jumper with 14:05 to play to put her team back on top, 40-37.

For the following seven minutes of play, neither team was able to gain more than a three-point lead until the Lady Monks pulled off an 8-2 run, which was capped by a McDevitt shot at the 7:08 mark to lift the home team to a 55-49 advantage.

Fort Kent managed to achieve another run, outscoring St. Joe's 11-2 in the subsequent two-and-a-half minutes to gain a 60-57 lead with 4:46 to play. Shir Fuchs ‘11 (Herzeliya, Israel) scored seven points during the UMFK outburst.

Down by three with 3:58 left in regulation, Daigle, 4-5 on charity shots in the game, converted a pair of free throw attempts to reduce the Bengals' lead to 60-59. After Ames made a free throw to extend the UMFK lead to two points, Freeman took a nifty pass from Casey Drake ‘11 (Lebanon, NH) and connected on her second three-pointer the contest, and 100th of her career, to lift the Royal Blue to a 62-61 edge.

Successful jumpers from Drake and Daigle helped offset a pair of free throws made by the Bengals' Ames, as the Lady Monks held on to a 66-63 lead with 1:26 to play. Ames drained 3-4 charity stripe bids in the final minute of play to knot the nail biter at 66 apiece with just seven seconds left.

After a timeout, the Lady Monks quickly pushed the ball upcourt and, with an extra pass, point guard Erin Cartwright ‘11 (Acton, MA) was able to find a wide-open McDevitt, who, in her first collegiate game, drained the game winner from 15 feet to lift Saint Joseph's to victory in their season opener.

The lead changed nine times in the second half alone and, overall, the game was tied on 11 different occasions.

St. Joe's shot 43.8% (28-64) from the floor and converted 75% (9-12) of their free throws while UMFK was 21-56 (37.5%) on field goal attempts and 22-35 (62.9%) from the line. The Bengals out-rebounded the Lady Monks, 46-32 in the losing effort.

For the home team, McDevitt notched eight points, Drake chipped in with seven points, seven assists and three steals while Cartwright had six points, eight assists and three steals. Ashley Geel ‘12 (St. George, ME) collected two points and a block in her collegiate debut.

For visiting Fort Kent, Fuchs netted 15 points, six boards and three steals and Norsworthy collected seven points and six rebounds in the loss.

Saint Joseph's will next hit the hardcourt on Friday when they travel to Waterville, ME to take on Thomas College at host Colby College at 8:00 PM. Fort Kent will play Husson University tomorrow in Bangor, ME at 1:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Maine-Fort Kent vs Saint Joseph's College (Me.)
11-15-08 1:00 PM at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (ME.) 68, MAINE-FORT KENT 66

MAINE-FORT KENT (0-1)
Ashley Ames 7-13 7-10 21; Kristen Violette 5-9 6-8 16; Shir Fuchs 5-14 3-5
15; Angela Norsworthy 1-8 5-10 7; Maliesha Caesar 2-4 0-0 4; Amber Garrison
1-7 1-2 3; Krystal Cyr 0-1 0-0 0; Geneice Bassue 0-0 0-0 0; Tara Waltz 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 21-56 22-35 66.

SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (ME.) (1-0)
Meghan Daigle 9-16 4-5 22; Kayla Boston 6-8 0-0 12; Carolyn Freeman 4-14 1-1
11; Megan McDevitt 4-11 0-0 8; Casey Drake 3-5 1-2 7; Erin Cartwright 1-5
3-4 6; Ashley Geel 1-2 0-0 2; Andrea Enright 0-0 0-0 0; Sarah Fournier 0-1
0-0 0; Katie Gagnon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 9-12 68.

Maine-Fort Kent............... 32 34 - 66
Saint Joseph's College (Me.).. 30 38 - 68

3-point goals--Maine-Fort Kent 2-6 (Shir Fuchs 2-4; Angela Norsworthy 0-1;
Amber Garrison 0-1),
Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 3-15 (Carolyn Freeman 2-5;
Erin Cartwright 1-2; Megan McDevitt 0-4; Ashley Geel 0-1; Sarah Fournier
0-1; Katie Gagnon 0-1; Meghan Daigle 0-1).
Fouled out--Maine-Fort Kent-None, Saint Joseph's College (Me.)-Meghan Daigle.

Rebounds--Maine-Fort Kent 60 (Kristen Violette 11; Ashley Ames 11),
Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 34 (Carolyn Freeman 11).

Assists--Maine-Fort Kent 14 (Ashley Ames 4),
Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 24 (Erin Cartwright 8).

Total fouls--Maine-Fort Kent 12, Saint Joseph's College (Me.) 24. Technical fouls--Maine-Fort Kent-None, Saint Joseph's College (Me.)-None.

A-170