STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (4-3) defeated Maine Maritime Academy (2-3), 60-52, in non-conference women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) paced the Monks with 13 points in the victory.
It appeared as if St. Joe's had put the game away early, as the Monks notched a 20-5 run to secure a 14-point cushion with 8:51 to play in the opening stanza, with Drake and Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) scoring 13 points during the SJC surge. The Mariners managed to make it a close game late, but St. Joe's was able to hang on for the eight-point triumph.
The Monks pushed their lead to 39-22 going into halftime and held a game-high 18-point advantage, 40-22, after Geel hit a jumper with 18:38 left in the second stanza.
St. Joe's led by double-digits until the Mariners scored 10 unanswered points mid-way through the latter half. Samantha Goda '12 (Eliot, ME) made a pair of freebies to cap the MMA outburst and cut the Monks' lead to 49-41 with 5:01 to play and Kari Jones '13 (Nobleboro, ME) decreased the Mariners' deficit to just four points, 53-49, with 1:17 remaining.
As it turned out, the visitors would get no closer to the lead as the Monks went 4-6 from the line in the final 25 seconds of play en route to a 60-52 victory.
Saint Joseph's forward Allie Parent' 12 (Camden, ME) went 6-6 from the free throw line and scored 11 points, Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) chipped in with 10 points and Lindsay Moore '14 (Somersworth, NH) tallied a career-best eight points in the Monks' win. Geel added eight points and four boards and Mackenzie Dufour '14 (Augusta, ME) dealt five assists for Saint Joseph's.
For the Mariners, Goda put up a game-high 16 points off an 8-8 effort from the line with five caroms and Maggie Smith '12 (Bath, ME) chipped in with 12 points. Alexis Bennett '13 (Freedom, ME) added eight points in the losing effort.
St. Joe's shot 43.5% (20-46) overall, 37.5% (3-8) from beyond the arc and a season-high 77.3% (17-22) from the charity stripe, while Maine Maritime shot 40% (16-40) from the floor, 27.3% (3-11) from three-point range and 73.9% (17-23) from the free throw line. The Mariners outworked the Monks on the glass with a 26-22 effort in rebounds and grabbed 11 offensive boards in the loss.
With the win, Saint Joseph's has won back to back games for the first time this season and improves to 5-4 against Maine Maritime in the history of the matchup.
St. Joe's will play host to Maine-Farmington on Wednesday at 5:30 PM. Maine Maritime will host Maine-Machias on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.
