STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College Women's Basketball team improved to 6-3 with a 47-46 win over Husson University (2-5) at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 caroms to help lead the Monks to their fourth-consecutive victory.

Geel also registered a game-high five blocked shots in the win, including a pivotal swatted ball with two seconds remaining in the contest. Husson senior guard Caitlyn Butterfield (Gorham, ME) had an opportunity under the hoop to put her team ahead with mere seconds remaining, but Geel was in position to block her attempt and preserve the narrow victory.

As often is the case, free-throw shooting played a significant role in the outcome. St. Joe's was 17-20 (85%) from the line, while Husson went 11-21 (52.4%) from the charity stripe in a losing effort.

SJC freshman forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, ME) was solid once again with a nine-point, eight-rebound effort and also notched a key blocked shot to help the Monks maintain a tie score in the closing minutes. Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) went 5-5 from the FT line and contributed seven points with a career-best five steals and Mackenzie Dufour '14 (Augusta, ME) chipped in with five points, five steals and four assists for Saint Joseph's.

Husson senior guard Bethany Sevey (Skowhegan, ME) led all scorers with 18 points and was 7-9 from the floor, including a 3-4 mark from downtown. Brianna Hanscom '12 (Mattawamkeag, ME) put up a double-double with 12 points and 12 caroms and added four assists and a pair of steals, while Amanda Gifford '12 (Lee, ME) and Kelli Murray '13 (Embden, ME) both grabbed four steals for the Eagles.

The first 20 minutes of play featured five tie scores and four lead changes, but neither team shot well in the opening stanza as the in-state rivals headed into intermission tied at 21-apiece. Overall, the clubs combined to make 10 field goals in 48 attempts and both squads committed 15 turnovers before the break.

The Monks attained their largest cushion of the game when a three from Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) put the hosts up 7-1 with 17:48 left in the first half, but an eight-point run by the Eagles over the following three minutes put the Royal Blue back by one.

Young drained a three-pointer at the 15:06 mark to lift the Monks back on top, 10-9, but both offenses sputtered over the final 15 minutes of the half, as Husson and St. Joe's combined to shoot 17% (5-29) and committed 19 turnovers en route to a 21-all deadlock going into the locker room.

The second stanza began with much better shooting results, especially for the Eagles who connected on seven of eight to start the half and led by a game-high eight points, 36-28, when Butterfield made a layup with 13:06 remaining.

Shufelt cut the Monks' deficit to three points with a trio of freebies after being fouled on a three-point shot at the 11:23 mark, but an easy basket by Stephanie Comstock '14 (Bangor, ME) extended the visitors' lead back to 38-31 two minutes later.

A Geel bucket and a free throw from Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) in the following 30 seconds made it a four-point game, 38-34, but Sevey answered with her third trifecta of the afternoon with eight minutes on the clock to put her Eagles ahead by seven once again.

The resilient Monks kept battling and managed to score nine unanswered points on their way to a 43-41 edge with 3:58 left. With the shot clock dwindling, Dufour capped the surge with a three pointer from the top of the key to lift the Royal Blue to their first lead of the second stanza.

In the following minute, the Eagles converted a pair of SJC turnovers into two baskets and took a 45-43 lead after Noelle Lincoln '11 (Dixmont, ME) tapped in a layup with 2:49 remaining. St. Joe's senior guard Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, ME) proceeded to tie the game again with a pair of free throws and, after Hanscom made a freebie of her own, Geel dropped in a layup to lift the Monks to a 47-46 lead with 30 seconds on the game clock.

With 18 seconds left, Gifford missed a layup for the Eagles and McDevitt grabbed the defensive carom. Geel, who was fouled on the ensuing in-bounds play, missed a FT shot and hustled down the floor to swat away the potential game-winning shot, which was taken by Butterfield with two seconds remaining.

St. Joe's shot 25% (13-52) overall, 28.6% (4-14) from downtown, and 85% (17-20) from the charity stripe while Husson shot 34.8% (16-46) from the field, 25% (3-12) from three-point range and 52.4% (11-21) from the FT line. The Eagles out-rebounded the Monks, 38-31, but committed 31 turnovers as six SJC players combined to pilfer 17 loose balls in the contest.

For the Monks, the FT success rate and steal total were season-highs, while the FG% and field goal tally rank as season-lows.

Geel's game-saving blocked shot was the 117th swat of her career and puts her in second for blocks in SJC Women's Basketball history. She moves past Mary Lou Kimball '89, a 2002 SJC Hall of Fame inductee, and is currently behind all-time leader Abbie Rice '04, who registered 146 blocks in four seasons.

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 36-30 (.546) against Husson in the history of the series. The Eagles trounced the Monks, 92-67, in Bangor last season. The Monks' four-game winning streak is the program's first since early in the 2007-08 season. All four victories have come against in-state rivals, each of which being a North Atlantic Conference opponent.

Saint Joseph's is off until the women make a trek to California to play at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday, December 31st at 1:00 PM. The Monks will face Pomona-Pitzer four days later at 2:00 PM before returning to Maine.

Husson will play at Brandeis on December 31st at 1:00 PM.

Photo courtesy of Rick Young, ryoung3@me.com