NASHUA, N.H. - #10/11 Saint Joseph's College (20-0, 8-0 GNAC) sailed past Rivier University (3-15, 1-7 GNAC), 105-68, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball contest on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Leading 16-10 midway through the first quarter, Saint Joseph's – ranked 10th nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll and 11th in this week's WBCA poll – rattled off a 16-2 run en route to securing a 32-12 advantage heading into the second stanza.
Senior guard Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine) netted 16 of her team-high 24 points in the second period to help the Monks gain a 59-22 cushion heading into intermission.
St. Joe's went on to claim a game-high 44-point (78-34) lead after freshman guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) hit a three-pointer with 2:23 left in the third quarter.
RECORD BREAKER:
With 11 assists in tonight's victory, senior guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) broke the GNAC career assists record, surpassing former Norwich University standout Lisa Belmonte '04, who notched 561 dimes over four seasons for the Cadets. McNamara entered tonight's contest with 132 assists and broke the conference record when classmate Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) scored a layup off her feed at the 8:02 mark of the third quarter.
McNamara now owns two conference records as the senior captain surpassed the GNAC's career three-pointers made mark when she drilled five trifectas in a win at Anna Maria College on January 19th. In 108 career games, she has made 293 three-pointers.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's was 12-for-28 on three-point attempts and held considerable leads in points in the paint (50-30) and bench points (37-4)…Rivier was 5-for-15 on shots taken from beyond the arc.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Marks was 10-for-11 from the field, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range, with 24 points in only 23 minutes on the floor
- Senior guard Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) tallied 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals
- McNamara chimed in with 12 points, 11 assists, and five boards in just 21 minutes
- Benway added 12 points off a 6-for-6 shooting performance with four boards in 14 minutes
- Fillion netted a season-high nine points with two rebounds and a pair of steals
- Freshmen Kaleigh Walsh (Windham, N.H.), Sophie Giardina (Bradenton, Fla.), and Tia Day (Monmouth, Maine) chipped in with five points apiece
LEADERS – RIVIER:
- Senior guard Kaylee Kacavas (Dracut, Mass.) led all players with 30 points and was 7-for-7 from the FT line with five boards and seven assists
- Senior Megan Hamel (Colebrook, N.H.) added 17 points and seven rebounds
- Senior Elizabeth Meehan (Nashua, N.H.) notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 caroms
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 15-5 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in three-consecutive meetings. The Monks have now won 26-consecutive regular season games versus GNAC opponents – the team's last loss in conference play was a 66-61 setback at the hands of Rivier on February 11th, 2017.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Johnson & Wales University on Saturday at 11:00 AM.
