MILTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (1-2) fell to tourney host Curry College (4-0), 60-53, in the Curry Tip-Off Championship game Saturday afternoon. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) led the Monks with 15 points and grabbed six boards in the losing effort.

The Monks and Colonels had dueled to a 33-33 tie after the first 20 minutes of play, but the hosts opened the second half with a 14-5 run and held off the Royal Blue en route to collecting the inaugural Curry Tip-Off Tournament title.

Geel collected All-Tournament honors after averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games. Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) also received All-Tournament honors and averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest.

St. Joe's shot 41.2% (21-51) from the field and the Colonels countered with a 35.7% (20-56) mark, but the Monks went just 4-18 from beyond the arc and made it to the line only 10 times, with seven FT's converted, in the setback. Curry connected on 17 of 20 charity-stripe shots and dominated on the boards with a 40-28 advantage, including 15 offensive grabs, in rebounds.

The Colonels parlayed the offensive caroms into 15 second-chance points and outscored the Monks by a 34-24 margin in the paint.

St. Joe's held at least a share of the lead for the first four minutes, but Curry guard Carolyn Houston '14 (Melrose, NY) drained a three at the 15:47 mark and grabbed a loose ball 13 seconds later to set up a Hailey Rafferty '13 (Worcester, MA) layup to stake the Colonels to a quick 11-6 advantage.

Trailing by seven, 25-18, with 7:57 remaining in the first half, the Royal Blue mustered an 11-1 outburst to secure a three-point cushion. Geel was the go-to player during the run, as the 6'1" center scored four straight baskets to knot the game at 26 apiece. Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) closed out the stretch with a three-pointer to put her team up by a 29-26 margin with 4:16 left in the first period.

The Colonels led 33-31 three minutes later after Danyel Cousins '11 (Brunswick, ME) made two free throws, but Monks guard Skyler Makkinje '14 (Hillsboro, NH) drained a jumpshot with 56 seconds to go in the half to tie the game at 33-all, which is where the contest stood going into the break.

St. Joe's shot 48.3% (14-29) from the field, 12.5% (1-8) from three-point distance, and went a perfect 4-4 from the FT line in the first half. Curry shot 33.3% (10-3) from the floor, 50% (2-4) from beyond the arc, and 78.6% (11-14) from the charity stripe in the opening period.

Curry kicked off the second stanza with six unanswered points with the help of three SJC turnovers in the first two minutes. The Monks immediately bounced back as McDevitt connected for a three and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) hit a shot in the paint to cut the SJC deficit back down to one point, 39-38, with 16:27 left.

As it turned out, the Monks' final lead of the contest came in the closing minutes of the first half. Saint Joseph's committed turnovers on three of the team's following four possessions, a span during which the Colonels netted eight unanswered points. Ashley Assarian '14 (Chicopee, MA) capped the run with a layup to put Curry ahead 47-38 with 12:47 to go

St. Joe's battled back several times in the last 12 minutes, but the Colonels answered on each occasion. Following the 8-0 run by the hosts, Parent made a pair of free-throw attempts and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) scored with a fast-break layup to cut the Curry lead to 47-42, but Rafferty drilled a three-pointer on the Colonels next possession to essentially negate the SJC burst.

A Shufelt trifecta with 8:46 remaining cut the Colonels' lead to 52-45, but the hosts were unfazed by the long-distance shot and proceeded to up their lead to a game-high 11 points over the next minute of play. The Monks scored the game's next five points and narrowed the gap to 56-50 when McDevitt heaved a three at the 5:20 mark, but Saint Joseph's would inch no closer to the lead.

For Saint Joseph's, McDevitt scored nine points, Parent tallied eight points and five caroms, and Shufelt added seven points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Mackenzie Dufour '14 (Augusta, ME) dealt four assists and added three steals and Drake chipped in with four points, three boards, three steals and three assists.

For Curry, Cousins scored a game-high 16 points and added seven rebounds in the triumph. Rafferty netted 14 points, Cortney Robinson '11 (Brockton, MA) registered eight points, nine boards and four steals, and Julia Scrubb '13 (Stowe, VT) scored eight points in the championship contest.

Saint Joseph's will play at Gordon College on Tuesday at 6:00 PM.

All-Tournament Team:

Shannon Wood            Mount Ida
Stephanie Houtman    UMass Dartmouth
Ashley Geel                 Saint Joseph's
Danyelle Shufelt          Saint Joseph's
Danyel Cousins            Curry
Cortney Robinson        Curry