STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (15-10, 9-3 GNAC) toppled Emerson College (13-12, 7-5 GNAC), 80-45, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Freshman center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's has clinched the #3 seed and will host #6 Johnson & Wales University in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday evening. Emerson, the #7 seed, will play at #2 Suffolk University in another GNAC quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night.
The Monks head into the conference tourney playing their best basketball of the season and have posted impressive numbers of late, including shooting efforts of 50% or higher in each of the last two contests and season-highs of 33 field goals made and 23 assists versus the Lions this afternoon. St. Joe's rolls into postseason play on a three-game winning streak and today's 35-point victory is the largest winning margin over a GNAC opponent this season.
The Monks set the tone early, as the hosts broke free from a 6-6 stalemate at the 15:54 mark with an 18-2 run over the following six minutes to secure a sizeable 17-point cushion. Junior Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) closed the outburst with a layup off a Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) assist to lift the Royal Blue to a 24-7 with 9:35 remaining in the first half.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to lead by at least 15 for the rest of the opening stanza and senior forward Alyssa Grigware (Biddeford, Maine) hit a mid-range jumper with 16 seconds before the break to give her team a 40-17 cushion heading into intermission.
Cahill led all first-half scorers with 10 points and pulled down eight boards in the opening 20 minutes while Sienna O'Han (Red Hook, N.Y.), Shannon Norton (Middletown, N.J.) and Elissa Chojnicki (Dover, N.H.) netted four points apiece to pace the visitors' scoring efforts in the first half.
The shooting discrepancy in the first half was expansive, as Saint Joseph's shot 52.8% (19-36) from the field and Emerson countered with a 24% (6-25) effort from the floor before the break.
The Lions shot marginally better (36%) in the second stanza, but the Monks did not let up and led by at least 20 points for the duration of the latter half. Shufelt extended the hosts' lead to a game-high 41 points when she drained a pair of freebies with 2:27 left in the contest.
Nine different players found the scorebook for the Monks, as Shufelt netted 16 with three steals, Moore poured in 14 with nine caroms, junior Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) added 13 points and junior point guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) contributed seven points and seven assists and tied a career-high with seven steals in the victory. Grigware tallied six points and four rebounds, Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) posted six assists and five boards and Cahill added three blocked shots to her impressive stat line.
For the Lions, sophomore forward Kristin Brice (Indiana, Penn.) recorded 10 points and four rebounds while Norton and Chojnicki netted nine points apiece in the losing bid. Freshman forward Kelsey Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) came off the bench to tally six points, seven caroms and three blocks for the visitors.
Overall, Saint Josephs' shot 50.8% (33-65) from the field, 50% (4-8) from three-point land and 90.9% (10-11) from the free throw line and Emerson recorded shooting efforts of 30% (15-50) from the floor, 33.3% (3-9) from downtown and 63.2% (12-19) from the stripe.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-2 in the history of the series with Emerson College, which is leaving the GNAC to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) next year. The Monks have defeated the Lions in four-consecutive meetings.
Prior to tip-off, Saint Joseph's held a brief ceremony to honor the program's two seniors and team captains: Grigware and Shufelt.
Grigware, a three-year player for the Monks, has played in 65 games with 232 points and 202 rebounds during career while Shufelt, a four year team-member, has appeared in 101 games with 752 points, 206 rebounds, 177 assists and 129 steals and currently ranks third in program history in free-throw percentage (82.4%, 216-262). Over the last four seasons, the Monks have posted a 65-39 (.625) record, including a stellar 37-12 (.755) mark versus GNAC opponents.
Senior Day Photos (Jessica Bridges '13)
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
