MILTON, MA – A layup by Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) with 13 seconds remaining in the second overtime lifted Saint Joseph's (1-1) past UMass.-Dartmouth (0-2), 81-80, in the first game of the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night.

With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the tourney title game where the Monks will face host Curry College at 3:00 PM on Saturday. The Colonels defeated Mount Ida, 73-54, in the other first-round game on Friday evening.

In a game that was tied on 11 occasions and featured nine lead changes, the Monks were able to come out on top with the help of 31 bench points, including a career-high 16 from Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT).

Free throws proved to be the difference in the first-ever meeting between the New England Region opponents. St. Joe's made 19 freebies, including 13 in the second half, and converted 68% of the team's FT attempts, while UMass.-Boston shot just 39% from the line and made only seven free throws in the loss.

The Corsairs maintained an advantage over the Monks for the better part of the first half and led by a game-high 13 points, 25-12, when guard Jessica Underwood '12 (Dorchester, MA) hit a jumper at the 5:56 mark.

An 8-0 surge by the Royal Blue in the next two minutes made it a five-point game, but six unanswered points by the Corsairs pushed their lead back up to 11 with 2:13 left in the first stanza. A Shufelt three and a pair of buckets from Young cut the SJC deficit back down to five. After a Colleen Moriarty '13 (Canton, MA) basket, the Monks trailed by seven, 34-27, heading into intermission.

UMass.-Dartmouth shot 46.9% (15-32) from the field in the opening half, but failed to make a three-pointer with an 0-5 effort from downtown. Saint Joseph's shot 39.3% (11-28) from the floor, 25% (2-8) from three-point distance, and 75% (3-4) from the line in the first half. The Corsairs held a 23-16 advantage on the glass, including 10 offensive caroms, in the first 20 minutes.

St. Joe's trailed for the better part of the second half as well, but an offensive outburst mid-way through the latter period set the stage for the Monks' thrilling win. Trailing 48-40 with 11:13 on the clock, the Royal Blue managed to go on an 11-3 run to tie the game. McDevitt nailed a pair of three-pointers to close out the surge, with the second trey knotting the game at 51 apiece.

The Monks would secure their first lead since the opening minutes when Parent made one of two free throws at the 5:27 mark. St. Joe's led by two, 54-52, 32 seconds later when Mackenzie Dufour '14 (Augusta, ME) converted a pair of freebies, but a three from Corsairs guard Stephanie Houtman '12 (New Bedford, MA) on her team's next trip down the floor secured a minimal lead for the Little East Conference program.

UMass.-Dartmouth held at least a share of the lead for the next three minutes, as baskets by Shufelt and Young negated a four-point deficit for the Monks with 1:39 to play. St. Joe's utilized a 7-11 effort from the charity stripe in the closing minutes to maintain pace and the Monks led by three points, 64-61, after Dufour made a pair of free throws with 54 seconds remaining in regulation, but Corsairs guard Erika Bornemann '14 (Canton, MA) converted a three-point play in the closing seconds to force extra time.

UMass.-Dartmouth gained a five-point advantage, 74-69,  after Megan Sheehan drained a three with 1:48 to go in the first OT period, but a trifecta by Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) and a layup by Parent tied the game once again.

The Corsairs opened the second overtime frame on a 6-0 run, but a layup by Abby Young '14 (North Yarmouth, ME) and a clutch three-pointer by Shufelt closed the gap to just one point with 2:20 remaining. Over the next two minutes, UMass-Dartmouth missed a pair of shots and committed a turnover, which eventually led to Parent's winning bucket.

Five Monks scored at least 10 points in the triumph. Young netted 15 with eight boards, Parent tallied 14 points, nine boards and three steals, McDevitt contributed 13 points with three treys and five caroms, and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) added 12 points. Shufelt was 5-12 from the floor, 3-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-4 from the line in a career showing.

Dufour logged 46 minutes of playing time, a team-high, and went 5-8 from the charity stripe with four assists and two steals for the Monks. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) grabbed nine boards and chipped in with six points.

For the Corsairs, Houtman scored a game-high 21 points and added nine boards with three steals and Bornemann posted a double-double, with 16 points and 12 rebounds, in the losing effort. Tashauna Ashmeade '11 (Hyannis, MA) added 15 points, five rebounds and three steals and Moriarty tallied 13 points, nine boards and five blocked shots.

The double-overtime game is the Monks' first since the team suffered an 80-78 setback in a marathon contest against Babson College on January 6th, 2001. The OT victory is the programs first since St. Joe's defeated Saint Joseph's-Brooklyn, 64-62, on February 25th, 2006.