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STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-2) held off University of Southern Maine (4-4), 67-65, in a non-conference women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday afternoon.
COSTELLO CUP:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's retains possession of the Costello Cup for the fifth-consecutive season. The Costello Cup is presented annually to the winner of the contest between the rivals and honors the late Dr. Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach.
St. Joe's is now 9-18 in the history of the Costello Cup series, which began in 1990.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The in-state rivals were essentially even for the better part of the first two quarters as the Monks held a 29-25 lead with 4:31 before the break, but the hosts headed into intermission riding an 11-3 run en route to claiming a 40-28 advantage.
Seemingly headed for a double-digit victory, Saint Joseph's held a 17-point (61-44) lead after sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) hit a pair of free throws with 9:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Southern Maine managed to fight back into contention with an impressive 17-2 outburst and trailed by just two points (63-61) with 3:43 on the clock.
Saint Joseph's gained a little separation with the help of three free throws, but USM made it a one-point (66-65) game with buckets from Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla.) and Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) with the latter coming at the 1:12 mark.
Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) made one of two freebie attempts with 15 seconds left to make it a 67-65 game and the Huskies missed a pair of shots in the closing four seconds, allowing the Monks to escape with the two-point triumph.
The Huskies' fourth-quarter run, thanks in large part to an effective full-court press that yielded nine turnovers, helped the visitors outscore the hosts by a 24-8 margin in the final frame.
STATS OF THE GAME:
SJC held a 30-11 lead in bench points and shot 44.4% (24-54) overall with a 42.9% (6-14) effort from three-point distance and a 68.4% (13-19) mark from the FT line…USM countered with slash lines of 36.4% (24-66), 17.6% (3-17), and 46.7% (14-30), respectively…Saint Joseph's won despite recording 23 turnovers with Southern Maine netting 25 points off the miscues.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Sophomore guard Kaleigh Walsh (Windham, N.H.) came off the bench to net a career-high 18 points and was 8-for-11 from the field with five rebounds
- Senior forward Lexi L'Heureux-Carland (Bridgton, Maine) registered her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 boards and was 5-for-7 from the floor
- Fillion added 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists
- Freshman Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and three assists in 17 minutes off the bench
LEADERS – SOUTHERN MAINE:
- Luckhardt paced the Huskies with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five steals and was 7-for-10 from the field
- Harris scored 14 points with seven boards
- Junior Kristen Curley (Gorham, Maine) scored 10 points and pulled down three caroms
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Colby College on Thursday at 6:00 PM while Southern Maine returns to action on Wednesday with a Little East Conference contest at UMass.-Boston at 5:30 PM.
