STANDISH, ME – University of Southern Maine (4-2) defeated Saint Joseph's College (4-2), 60-49, in non-conference women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday evening. Senior forward Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) tallied 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals in the losing effort.

With the victory, Southern Maine retains possession of the Costello Cup for the second-consecutive season and 20th time in the history of the Cup series. Presented annually to the winner of the contest between the rivals, the Costello Cup honors the late Dr. Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach. The Huskies now own a 20-4 record versus the Monks during the Cup matchup, which began during the 1989-90 campaign.

The Monks held the lead for the better part of the first half, but the Huskies rallied late and carried a 26-22 advantage into intermission. Saint Joseph's led by as many as seven points in the opening frame, as Moore made a layup 11:23 into the contest to lift the hosts to a 16-9 advantage, but Southern Maine fought back and would claim the lead for good with a 17-6 run to close out the first half with a four-point cushion.

Moore led the Monks with eight points in the first half, while Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine) made all four of her free throw attempts and also netted eight in the opening period.

Saint Joseph's kept pace with USM for the first nine minutes of the second half and trailed by a slim 33-32 margin after sophomore center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) made a free throw with 10:59 on the clock. But Huskies went on to put the game out of reach with an 18-3 offensive outburst over the following five minutes, a span that was bookended with a pair of three-pointers from Taylor Flood (Sanford, Maine) and Mariah Callender (Portland, Maine) – buckets that accounted for 12 of the 18 points during the outbreak, which lifted the visitors to a 51-35 lead with 6:12 left.

The Monks managed to post a 7-0 run over the following three minutes, but the comeback bid would ultimately fall short, as the Huskies closed the door with a 9-4 burst of their own. Saint Joseph's sophomore guard Shannon McFayden (Ipswich, Mass.) drained a three as time wound down to account for the 60-49 final.

For the Monks, Cahill netted 10 with three boards and a pair of blocked shots, freshman guard Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) scored 10 off a 4-6 effort from the floor and senior forward Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) pulled down seven caroms.

For the Huskies, Callender scored 14 points and made four of five attempts from downtown with five boards, four steals and a pair of assists, Pelletier netted 14, Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) added eight points, nine rebounds and three steals and Flood contributed eight points and three caroms.

Saint Joseph's shot 39.1% (18-46) from the field, 27.3% (3-11) from three-point distance and 50% (10-20) from the free throw line in the loss. Southern Maine countered by shooting 37% (20-54) from the floor, 38.9% (7-18) from downtown and 76.5% (13-17) from the charity stripe.

Saint Joseph's plays at Colby College on Thursday at 5:30 PM while Southern Maine is set to host Bowdoin College on Tuesday at 5:30 PM.

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 430-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.