STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (17-8, 9-2 GNAC) closed out the 2019-20 regular season with a 62-46 victory over Regis College (14-11, 8-3 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's claims the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament and will host #7 Johnson & Wales University in a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. Regis has earned the #3 seed and will host #6 Colby-Sawyer College in other first-round action on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's opened the conference finale with a 9-2 run and headed into the second quarter with a 15-9 advantage. Regis began the second stanza with a 6-0 surge to make it a two-point game with 8:44 before the break and managed to maintain a two-possession deficit until halftime, when the Monks held a 31-27 edge.
St. Joe's kicked off the third period with a 12-3 run and held a 13-point lead (43-30) after junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) capped the outbreak with a layup with 6:53 left in the penultimate quarter.
The Monks proceeded to lead by double digits for the better part of the fourth frame and held a game-high 16-point cushion after senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) hit a pair of free throws to cap the day's scoring with 50 seconds remaining.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's shot 42.6% (23-54) from the field while Regis posted a 25.8% (17-66) success rate from the floor…The Monks held a 32-22 lead in points in the paint.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Quinn paced the Monks with 20 points and was 3-for-6 from three-point distance with a 5-for-6 effort from the FT line
- Stapelfeld added 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists
- Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) chipped in with nine points and three boards
- Freshman guard Bri Jordan (Gray, Maine) added seven points, nine rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocked shots
- Senior forward Lexi L'Heureux-Carland (Bridgton, Maine) contributed six points, six caroms, three assists, and two steals
- Junior forward Jordan Jabar (Waterville, Maine) pulled down seven rebounds and scored three points
LEADERS – REGIS:
- Senior forward Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points with three rebounds and three blocked shots
- Sophomore forward Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) netted nine points with five boards
- Freshman guard Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) tallied nine points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists
SENIOR MOMENT:
Before the start of the contest the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the program's two seniors: Julia Quinn and Lexi-L'Heureux-Carland. The former Fryeburg Academy teammates both transferred to Saint Joseph's, as Quinn left Endicott College midway through her freshman year and L'Heureux-Carland came to St. Joe's after playing at Wheaton College for a year-and-a-half. During their time at Saint Joseph's, the duo has combined to play in 165 games with 659 points, 345 rebounds, 200 assists, and 86 assists. Quinn was a member of the Monks' 2017 and 2018 GNAC Championship teams while L'Heureux-Carland played for the 2018 squad.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 4-1 all-time versus Regis College and has now defeated the Pride in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season.
