STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (21-5, 10-1 GNAC) will host #4 Suffolk University (17-9, 8-3 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinal contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday at 7:00 PM.
How they got here
Saint Joseph's defeated #8 Rivier University, 72-62, in GNAC Tournament quarterfinal action at the Alfond Center on Tuesday evening. The contest was not decided until midway through the third quarter as the conference counterparts swapped the lead 16 times and saw six tie scores before the break. The Monks eventually pulled away with the help of 20-2 and 39-14 advantages in bench points and points in the paint, respectively, and freshman forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.
Suffolk topped fifth-seeded Norwich University in a GNAC quarterfinal in Boston on Tuesday night. Neither team led by more than seven points for the duration of the contest, but the Rams – who trailed 42-39 after three quarters – put the game away by outscoring the Cadets 16-9 in the final frame. Guard Alexandra Nagri (Salem, N.H.) led all scorers with 19 points – including 10 in the fourth stanza – while Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) neared a double-double with eight points and 11 caroms to help her team advance.
What happens next?
The winner of tonight's contest advances to the GNAC Championship, which will be played on Saturday with the highest remaining seed serving as the host. This evening's victor will face the winner of the #3 Emmanuel College/#2 Johnson & Wales University GNAC semifinal, which is also being played tonight.
The GNAC Champion earns an automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 4th.
What have you done lately?
The quarterfinal win over Rivier upped the Monks' winning streak to four games with six victories in the last seven contests overall. Saint Joseph's capped the regular season last Saturday with an 81-58 triumph at Anna Maria College. For St. Joe's, the win over the AMCATS clinched the GNAC Tournament's top seed, as the Royal Blue finished the year in a three-way tie with Johnson & Wales and Emmanuel but defeated the former during the season and posted a higher overall winning percentage than the latter to emerge as the #1 seed.
For Suffolk, the four-point tourney victory over Norwich was the team's sixth consecutive triumph, as the Rams capped the regular season with five straight GNAC wins. Senior forward Chelsea Campellone (Fall River, Mass.) has emerged as a major contributor for the Rams and has averaged 16.5 and 11.3 rebounds during the six-game stretch.
Who to watch – Saint Joseph's:
Center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine), the Monks' lone senior, leads the team in scoring (15.2 PPG), rebounding (8.3 RPG), field goals made (162), field goal percentage (48.1%), free throws made (71), and blocked shots (58). One of the top post players in the conference and a four-year starter, Cahill has notched eight double-doubles this winter and 34 in her career overall. Nearing the end of a basketball career rarely seen at Saint Joseph's, the two-year team captain ranks among the program's elite in points (1,606), rebounds (853), field goals made (642), and free throws made (322) and is the Monks' career blocked shots leader with 216 rejections.
Freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) has been a welcome addition to the Monks' starting five and averages 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest and ranks among the GNAC leaders in three-pointers made (58, 3rd), three-point percentage (41.1%, 1st), FT% (79.2%, 6th), and assists (105, 4th).
With five additional players averaging north of five points per game, the Monks possess perhaps the most depth in the conference. Benway, who recently garnered ECAC, GNAC, and MWBCA Rookie of the Week honors, averages 7.3 points and 5.1 boards per game while sophomore Emily Quirion (Augusta, Maine), freshman Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine), junior Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.), and sophomore Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) each contribute at least 4.9 PPG.
Who to watch – Suffolk:
The Rams feature a well-rounded offensive attack with four players averaging at least nine points per game. Campellone leads the way with 15.1 PPG and 10.3 RPG and ranks eighth and fourth in the GNAC in scoring and rebounding, respectively. The senior forward compiles many of her points at the charity stripe with 114 freebies made in 167 attempts this winter.
Suffolk has a pair of outside shooters to account for as well in junior guards Georgia Bourikas (Hull, Mass.) and Kelsey Schiebel (Windham, N.H.). Bourikas, who leads the GNAC with an 84.1% (53-63) free-throw rate, is averaging 10.3 PPG while shooting 35.6% (37-104) from downtown. Schiebel contributes 9.2 PPG with a 36.1 (39-108) success rate from beyond the arc and ranks seventh in the conference with 91 assists.
Quadri rounds out the Rams' top scorers with 9.9 points per game and also pulls down 6.3 boards per contest. More than capable of putting up big numbers, the senior guard has netted 26 or more points in a game twice this winter.
Recipe for success – Saint Joseph's:
St. Joe's currently leads the conference free-throw percentage (70.7%), second in three-point success (31.9%), and third in scoring (69.3), field goal percentage (39.0%), free throws made per game (14.3), assists per game (16.2), fewest turnovers per game (15.9), steals per game (9.6), and scoring defense (57.6). The Monks are 11-1 at home (the Rams are 3-5 on the road) this year, with the only setback in Standish coming at the hands of nationally ranked University of New England on January 25th.
The Monks' bench has proven to be a major factor this season and contributes 24.3 points per game on average. Also of note – Saint Joseph's is 16-0 when tallying 40 or more rebounds and 20-2 when scoring at least 60 points.
Recipe for success – Suffolk:
Suffolk looks to be a force on the glass on both ends of the court, as the Rams lead the GNAC in overall rebounding (47.8 RPG) and defensive rebounding (33.2 DRPG). Suffolk is 16-4 when pulling down 42 or more rebounds – the Rams are 1-5 when grabbing 41 or fewer caroms.
Suffolk also leads the conference in opponents' field goal percentage (32.4%) and is second in blocked shots per game (4.3). As always, ball security is a priority since the Rams are 15-3 when committing fewer than 20 turnovers in a game.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83, now in his 23rd season at the helm for the Monks and 24th overall as a collegiate clipboard carrier, is among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball. With a 454-180 (.716) career record, McDevitt ranks 21st among active coaches in winning percentage and 22nd in victories. Only four coaches in New England have a higher win rate and just three in the region have more wins.
During his tenure at Saint Joseph's, Coach McDevitt has guided the Monks to at least 20 wins in 15 different seasons, the 10th-highest total in the history of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball. During his career, McDevitt has garnered eight Coach of the Year honors, including the GNAC Coach of the Year award following the 2014-15 campaign.
Ed Leyden is in his 22nd season at the helm for the Rams and has accumulated a 346-238 (.593) career record and has led Suffolk to a pair of 20-win seasons during his tenure. Leyden has been selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year on five occasions, including the 2012-13 season when the Rams notched a program-record 23 victories, and guided his teams to seven ECAC DIII New England Championship Tournament appearances.
The last time we met:
In the last meeting between the GNAC rivals, Saint Joseph's defeated Suffolk, 68-50, in a game played at the Alfond Center on January 18th. The Monks led by as many as 27 points and netted 18 points off 23 Ram turnovers with 30 bench points in the triumph.
Cahill led the Monks with 13 points and 10 rebounds with four blocks and a pair of assists and Benway contributed 10 points off a 5-7 shooting performance with four caroms. Waggett was the third SJC hoopster to reach double digits with 12 points in the victory.
For Suffolk, Nagri netted 14 points while Schiebel added nine points and five assists and Bourikas came off the bench to tally seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Rams scored over half of their points (26) in the paint and held an 8-5 lead in fast break points in the loss.
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's is 8-7 all-time versus Suffolk University, a team that defeated the Monks by a 68-51 margin in Boston last season (2/17/15). The Monks have not defeated the Rams in consecutive meetings since the early 2000's, when St. Joe's notched 90-74 and 72-68 victories on November 17th, 2000 and January 9th, 2003, respectively.
Tonight's contest marks the third time these two teams have met in a GNAC Semifinal – Suffolk emerged victorious in both of the previous meetings: 71-62, on February 24th, 2011 and 53-45, on February 21st, 2013. Both games took place on the Rams' home court.
#GOMONKS
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!
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 474-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.
