STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (23-5, 10-1 GNAC) will face nationally-ranked Tufts University (26-1, 10-0 NESCAC) in the first round of the NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday evening. The contest, to be played on the Jumbos' home court, Cousens Gymnasium, is set to begin at 8:00 PM.
The winner of tonight's first round contest advances to Saturday's second round and will face either University of New England or New York University. The Nor'easters and Violets kick off first round action at Tufts at 6:00 PM this evening. Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $4 for students and $3 for seniors.
Saturday's winner moves on to the sectionals – often referred to as the "Sweet 16" – which will begin on March 14th. The Final Four, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, will be played on March 21st and 22nd.
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How they got here:
Saint Joseph's, the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament, defeated #8 Norwich University, 63-47, in the conference championship at the Alfond Center on Saturday. The win clinched the program's first GNAC title in seven years as a member of the conference, as well as the team's first conference crown since winning the Maine Athletic Conference in one of the College's final years as an NAIA member in 2001.
Senior forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine), the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, netted a game-high 19 points with 12 rebounds while sophomore center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) put up a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards in the title game victory.
Tufts University (26-1, 10-0 NESCAC), ranked fourth nationally in the most recent D3Hoops.com poll, collected the program's first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title with a 62-46 victory over Amherst College in the league championship on Saturday.
Four Jumbos netted at least 10 points in the triumph over the Lord Jeffs with junior center Hayley Kanner (Scarsdale, N.Y.) pouring in a game-high 21 points. Freshman forward Michela North (Duxbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 caroms while junior guard Kelsey Morehead (Foster City, Calif.) and senior guard Liz Moynihan (Storrs, Conn.) scored 10 points apiece in the championship victory.
The last time we met:
The Monks and Jumbos have met just once on the hardwood, as Tufts toppled Saint Joseph's, 76-45, in the Regis College Invitational on December 2nd, 2011. A total of 10 players from both teams – four from St. Joe's, six from Tufts – remain on the two rosters from the contest.
The teams faced three common opponents this season: Emmanuel College, Bates College and Colby College. The Monks suffered a 74-66 defeat at the hands of Emmanuel in early February, but defeated both Bates (71-64) and Colby (67-63) this winter. The Jumbos defeated Emmanuel (66-56), Bates (62-46) and Colby (54-33). Tufts' only loss of the year was a 58-52 setback to Babson College on February 11th.
What have you done lately?
The Monks carry an eight-game winning streak into the first round of the NCAA Tournament and have won 10 of the last 11 contests since falling to University of New England, 60-52, on January 27th.
The Jumbos followed their lone hiccup of the season with convincing wins over Colby and Bowdoin College (92-55), which was ranked #21 nationally at the time, and won all three of their NESCAC Tournament contests by at least 10 points.
NCAA Tournament History:
The Saint Joseph's women's basketball program is about to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Monks made eight NAIA National Tournament appearances over 25 years before assuming NCAA DIII Independent status during the 2002-03 academic year. Saint Joseph's found a home in the GNAC in the fall of 2007 and, as an institution, has claimed 14 league titles overall since joining the conference, which features 12 institutions from six different states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The Jumbos have advanced to the NCAA Sectional round in each of the last two seasons after winning first and second round games at home. Overall, the national tournament berth is the sixth in team history.
Recipe for success:
Much of the Monks' offense comes from Young and Cahill, who contribute 15.1 and 15.0 points per game, respectively, through 28 tilts this winter. Only two other New England teams can boast a pair of players averaging at least 15 points this season and neither (New England College and Pine Manor College) advanced to the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Featuring a stout defense, the Monks rank 20th in the nation in points allowed per game (53.0) and have not suffered a loss when allowing fewer than 60 points in a contest all season.
Tufts is certainly a formidable opponent with few, if any, weaknesses to exploit. The Jumbos rank second in the nation in points allowed per game (49.0), fourth in fewest turnovers per contest (12.1) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.15). Tufts is also a very efficient shooting team, posting averages of 41.7%, 32.5% and 72.2% from the field, three-point distance and the free throw line, respectively.
The Jumbos feature a balanced offense, with five players averaging at least 7.0 PPG, including Kanner, who leads the team with 12.3 points per contest. Three Tufts players have made 30 or more three-pointers and the Jumbos average 5.9 three-point field goals per game this season.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 (437-170, .720) is the winningest and most successful coach in Saint Joseph's women's basketball history and has never suffered a losing season in his 22-year career as a collegiate head coach. Including this year's GNAC Championship and subsequent NCAA tourney berth, the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year has guided his teams to 10 conference titles and eight National Tournament appearances during his career.
Tufts Head Coach Carla Berube (238-76, .758), now in her 12th season at the helm for the Jumbos, has guided the Jumbos to NCAA Tournament appearances in six of the last seven years, including advancements to the "Sweet Sixteen" in each of the last two seasons and a trip to the "Elite Eight" in 2008.
Berube, the 2014 NESCAC Coach of the Year, was a fine collegiate player and starred at University of Connecticut for four years under renowned Head Coach Geno Auriemma. A 1,000-point scorer during her career, she helped the Huskies advance to the NCAA DI Tournament Elite 8 in each of her four seasons, including 1995 when UConn went 35-0 and claimed the National Championship.
Who to watch:
Young, the 2014 GNAC Tournament MVP and Second Team All-GNAC honoree, has established career-highs across the board during her senior season. She currently leads the Monks in scoring (15.1 PPG), free throws made (84), free throw percentage (78.5%) and total points (422) and ranks second on the team in rebounding (7.7 RPG), field goals made (160) and blocked shots (21). She became the 21st member of the Monks' 1,000-Point Club with 18 points in a win over Lasell College on February 22nd.
Cahill, a two-time Second Team All-GNAC honoree, leads the Monks in rebounding (8.0 RPG), blocked shots (59) and field goals made (172) and is second on the squad in scoring (15.0 PPG) and free throws made (77) over 28 starts as a sophomore. Cahill claimed a spot on the GNAC All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds with eight rejections in the trio of postseason victories.
Kanner, a 6'2 post player, leads the Jumbos in scoring (12.3 PPG), field goals made (124), free throws made (75) and blocked shots (69) and earned Second Team All-NESCAC honors for her efforts this season. Junior guard Hannah Foley (Acton, Mass.) ranks second on the team with 10.6 PPG and is the Jumbos' top deep threat, having made 47 three-pointers with a 41.7% success rate from downtown so far this winter.
Morehead runs the Tufts offense and averages 7.3 PPG while shooting 34.7% (34-98) from beyond the arc with the third-best assist/turnover ratio (2.78) in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball. Morehead and Foley both claimed First Team All-NESCAC accolades earlier this week.
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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.
