STANDISH, Maine –Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (18-8, 9-2 GNAC) will host #3 Regis College (15-11, 8-3 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinal on Thursday at 6:30 PM.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Saint Joseph's outlasted #7 Johnson & Wales, 59-54, in quarterfinal action on Tuesday evening to advance to the GNAC semifinal round for the fifth-consecutive season. The Monks outrebounded the Wildcats by a 50-24 margin – including an 18-2 lead on the offensive glass – and held a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint and were saw three players score at least 10 points in the victory. Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) led SJC with 15 points and added six boards and two assists on the evening. FULL RECAP
Regis topped #6 Colby-Sawyer, 61-48, in another quarterfinal on Tuesday. The Pride netted 24 points off 21 Colby-Sawyer turnovers and featured three players with double-digit point outputs, including Pam Gonzalez, who registered 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and four steals, and Taylor Iorfino, who was 8-for-10 from the floor with 16 points. FULL RECAP
WHAT'S NEXT?
Thursday night's victor advances to the GNAC Championship and will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup - #4 Suffolk University at #1 Emmanuel College – on Saturday afternoon, tip-off TBD. The higher seed serves as host throughout tourney play.
The winner of the GNAC Championship game, which will be played on Saturday, February 29th, earns an automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 8th.
BRACKETOLOGY:
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, February 25 (at high seeds)
Game 1: #1 Emmanuel def. #8 Norwich, 65-39
Game 2: #4 Suffolk def. #5 Albertus Magnus, 103-95 (2OT)
Game 3: #3 Regis def. #6 Colby-Sawyer, 61-48
Game 4: #2 Saint Joseph's def. #7 Johnson & Wales, 59-54
Semifinals - Thursday, February 27 (at high seeds)
Game 5: #4 Suffolk at #1 Emmanuel, 7:00 PM
Game 6: #3 Regis at #2 Saint Joseph's, 6:30 PM
Championship - Saturday, February 29
Game 7: At highest remaining seed
SEASON AT A GLANCE:
Saint Joseph's:
- The Monks have won 11 of their last 13 games and have not lost at home since falling to Worcester State University, 87-81, on January 7th
- Saint Joseph's leads the GNAC in three-point field goal percentage (31.1%) and features three out of the top five three-point shooters in the conference
- The Monks also rank first in free throw percentage (71.1%), second in three-pointers made per game (6.7) and assists per game (14.8), and third in opponents' 3PT percentage (25.4%), three-point attempts per game (21.5), and rebound margin per game (3.9)
- Seven different SJC players are scoring at least 5.0 points per game
- St. Joe's averages 69.2 PPG at the Harold Alfond Center and is 9-2 overall at home this winter
Regis:
- The Pride have won nine of their last 12 games, a span that includes impressive conference wins over Suffolk and Emmanuel
- Regis leads the GNAC in scoring defense (54.2 PPG) and ranks third in FT attempted per game (18.3), and fourth in offensive rebounds per game (14.6), rebound margin per game (3.2), assists per game (14.1), fewest turnovers per game (16.7), and steals per game (8.8)
- Six different Pride players are averaging at least 6.0 PPG including a pair contributing north of 10.0 PPG
- Regis is 3-8 and averaging 58.8 PPG in road games this season
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Saint Joseph's:
- (#33) Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) leads the Monks with 12.0 points per game and contributes 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest; the first-year starter ranks second in the GNAC in three-point percentage (36.5%, 50-137) and three-pointers made (50)
- (#12) Junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) is averaging 11.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game and ranks sixth in the conference three-point percentage (32.1%) and eighth in three pointers made (44)
- (#5) Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) is contributing 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and ranks second in the GNAC in free throw shooting percentage (80.3%) and fifth in three-point shooting percentage (32.9%)
Regis:
- (#35) Freshman guard Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) leads the Pride in scoring (13.1 PPG), rebounding (8.8 RPG), field goals made (120), points (327), rebounds (220), and steals (61); the seven-time GNAC Rookie of the Week selection ranks fifth in the conference in three-pointers made (45) and sixth in defensive rebounds (180) and steals
- (#10) Sophomore forward Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) is scoring 10.1 points per game and pulling down 6.7 rebounds per contest and ranks sixth in the GNAC in offensive rebounds (76)
- (#5) Senior forward Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) is averaging 10.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game
ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:
Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (574-203, .739) - 28th collegiate season
Among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, McDevitt ranks 13th among active coaches in victories and 18th in winning percentage. Only two coaches in New England have more wins and three (10+ years) have a higher win rate.
During his tenure at Saint Joseph's, Coach McDevitt has guided the Monks to at least 20 wins in 18 different seasons, the seventh-highest total in the history of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, with 18 championships. During his career, McDevitt has garnered 14 'Coach of the Year' accolades, including GNAC top coach honors last season.
Regis: Angela Santa Fe (132-59, .691) – seventh collegiate season
Angela Santa Fe was named the 10th head women's basketball coach in program history in August of 2013 and has since had unprecedented success at the helm of the Pride. Santa Fe entered the 2019-20 season third on the all-time list for wins by a women's basketball head coach at Regis College.
Santa Fe guided the Pride – who joined the GNAC prior to the 2017-18 season - to six New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) titles and three NCAA Tournament berths. She guided the Pride an NCAA Division III record 118 consecutive conference (NECC) wins and was named as the NECC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2016. On January 20th, 2018 she picked up her 100th career win with a 58-50 victory over Suffolk.
Santa Fe played collegiately at University of Southern Maine for three seasons (2006-08) and helped lead the Huskies to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including an appearance in the 2006 NCAA Championship Game and a Sweet 16 bid in 2007. In an interesting twist, SJC Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 was an assistant at USM during her time in Gorham.
THE LAST TIME WE MET:
These two teams met in the regular-season finale on Saturday at the Harold Alfond Center with the Monks coming out on top, 62-46, in what was a battle for the #2 seed in the conference tournament.
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 Stapelfeld 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 Quinn hit a pair of free throws to cap the day's scoring with 50 seconds remaining.
Quinn paced the Monks with 20 points and was 3-for-6 from three-point distance and Stapelfeld added 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. For Regis, Veasey netted 11 points, Searcy added nine points and five boards, and Gonzalez tallied nine points, six caroms, three steals, and two assists.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is 4-1 all-time versus Regis College and has defeated the Pride in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season.
GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
The Monks have appeared in the GNAC Tournament in 12 of 13 seasons as a member of the conference and claimed the program's first GNAC Championship in 2014, when the Royal Blue defeated Norwich University, 63-47, in the title game at the Alfond Center on March 1st, 2014.
Including the 2014 title, Saint Joseph's has won four conference championships including three in the last four years.
The Monks are 18-1 at home – and 19-7 overall - in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.
The Pride have advanced to the GNAC Tournament in each of the last three seasons and are 1-2 on GNAC postseason play. Prior to Tuesday's win over Colby-Sawyer, Regis fell to Albertus Magnus College in consecutive seasons in the quarterfinal round, first as the #4 seed in 2018 (51-49) and last year as the #6 seed (82-74).
