NEW ­­­HAVEN, Conn. – Saint Joseph's College (8-3, 1-0 GNAC) kicked off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a 72-61 victory over Albertus Magnus College (5-8, 0-3 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon. Junior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) netted a game-high 22 points with six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in the victory.

Saint Joseph's held a 30-26 lead heading into intermission, but Albertus Magnus refused to go down easily in a tightly contested second half, which featured five tie scores and a pair of lead changes. The Falcons knotted the score at 61-61 when freshman guard Kiki Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) hit a jumper with 3:08 remaining, but the Monks ended the contest on an 11-0 run to secure the conference victory.

Senior guard Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine), who posted her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 boards in the triumph, (Standish, Maine) went 6-6 from the free throw line and scored eight in the final two minutes of play.

Albertus Magnus owned a 16-8 lead midway through the first half, but Saint Joseph's fought back with a 14-2 run, which was capped by a Hayley Quirion (Augusta, Maine) layup that saw the visitors gain a 22-18 edge with 5:49 before the break. The conference counterparts essentially traded buckets for the remainder of the first frame with freshman guard Brianne Maloney (South Portland, Maine) connecting on a layup with 37 seconds on the clock, providing the visitors with a 30-26 cushion heading into halftime.

For the Monks, sophomore guard Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) scored 10 points with five assists, four boards and a pair of steals, freshman forward Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) totaled 10 points and five caroms, and freshman guard Emily Quirion (Augusta, Maine) added six points in the triumph.

For the Falcons, junior forward Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.) posted a double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds, freshman forward Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.) netted 15 with six boards, and Epps came off the bench to score 11 points in a losing effort.

With today's result, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-0 all-time versus Albertus Magnus College, a team the Monks defeated by a 61-38 margin last winter.

Saint Joseph's is off until next Saturday when the team hosts GNAC-rival Anna Maria College in a 1:00 PM start. Albertus Magnus plays at Emmanuel College at 5:30 PM on Wednesday.

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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.