STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's 18-5, 8-1 GNAC) edged Suffolk University (13-9, 6-3 GNAC), 54-50, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Senior forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) scored a game-high 16 points and added eight rebounds in the victory.

Saint Joseph's endured a slow start, trailing 13-3 midway through the first half, but overcame the early struggles and faced a 31-27 deficit going into intermission. The Monks did not secure their first lead of the day until sophomore Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) hit a layup with 15:42 remaining in the second half, which featured four tie scores and three lead changes.

The final swing would go in favor of the hosts however, as Young converted a traditional three-point play to push the Royal Blue to a 49-48 edge with 2:03 left. As it turned out, Young's effort ignited an 8-0 that saw the Monks claim their largest lead – six points (54-48) – with Cahill closing out the surge with a bucket to all but clinch the conference victory with 41 seconds remaining.

For Saint Joseph's, Cahill registered her eighth double-double of the season – and 19th of her career – with 14 points and 11 rebounds and also notched three blocked shots in the victory. Freshmen guards Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) and Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) scored seven points apiece and senior Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) added five points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals on the afternoon.

Senior forward Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the visitors with 12 points and four assists and also added four assists while junior guard Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of helpers in the losing effort.

The Rams posted a solid 42.9% (12-28) shooting effort from the field in the first half, but managed to shoot just 14.8% (4-27) from the floor – including a 2-10 effort from downtown – in the second stanza. Suffolk started the latter frame on a 1-12 slump, but regained the lead when Georgia Bourikas (Hull, Mass.) and Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) drained three-pointers over a 90-second span to make it a 41-39 game with 8:26 on the clock.

The Monks held advantages in points off turnovers (7-3), points in the paint (16-8) and bench points (16-13) in the triumph.

Prior to tip-off, the women's basketball program hosted a brief ceremony to honor the team's five seniors: Young, Hendrix, Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine), Skyler Makkinje (Hillsboro, N.H.) and Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.). The 2014 graduating class has helped the program post a 72-33 (.686) overall record and a 38-8 (.826) mark in conference play over the last four seasons.

Both teams will host GNAC opponents on Tuesday evening, when the Monks face Mount Ida College at 5:30 PM and the Rams take on Anna Maria College at 7:00 PM.

GAME NOTES:

Saint Joseph's improves to 7-6 all-time versus Suffolk University and avenges a 2013 GNAC Tournament semifinal season-ending setback with the victory…the Rams entered this afternoon's contest having defeated the Monks in four of the last five meetings…the Monks committed a season-low 11 turnovers in today's win…St. Joe's has now scored 54 points in consecutive games.

UP NEXT:

St. Joe's is 5-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College…the Mustangs have not defeated the Monks since the 2006-07 campaign when they recorded an 81-75 victory over SJC.

SENIOR DAY VIDEO - created by Sarah Assante '15

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.