STANDISH, Maine –Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (19-8, 9-2 GNAC) will play at top-seeded Emmanuel College (20-7, 9-2 GNAC) in the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Saint Joseph's edged #3 Regis College, 55-53, in GNAC semifinal action at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday evening. Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) led the Monks with 14 points while senior forward Lexi L'Heureux-Carland (Bridgton, Maine) added 11 points and junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) contributed eight points in the victory. FULL RECAP 

The Monks defeated #7 Johnson & Wales University, 59-54, in a conference quarterfinal on Tuesday evening. Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) led SJC with 15 points and added six boards and two assists on the evening. FULL RECAP

Emmanuel outlasted #4 Suffolk University in the other GNAC semifinal contest on Thursday as the Saints tipped the Rams, 58-57, to advance to the GNAC Championship for the 21st time in program history. Seniors Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) and Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) combined for 41 points in the victory. FULL RECAP 

The Saints moved on to the GNAC semifinals after toppling #8 Norwich University, 65-39, in other quarterfinal action on Tuesday. Ramirez-Tejada had a monster game with 21 points and 17 rebounds in the victory. FULL RECAP 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The winner of the GNAC Championship game earns an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 8th. The complete national tournament bracket will be announced on Monday afternoon.

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: #1 Emmanuel def. #4 Suffolk, 58-57
Game 6: #2 Saint Joseph's def. #3 Regis, 55-53

Championship - Saturday, February 29
Game 7: #2 Saint Joseph's at #1 Emmanuel, 1:00 PM

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks have won 12 of their last 14 games with their only setbacks during this stretch being a 64-49 defeat at the hands of Suffolk on February 4th and an 81-40 loss at Emmanuel on February 15th
• Saint Joseph's leads the GNAC in three-point field goal percentage (31.5%) and features three out of the top five three-point shooters in the conference
• The Monks also rank first in free throw percentage (71.4%), second in three-pointers made per game (6.7) and third in assists per game (14.7), three-point attempts per game (21.4), and rebound margin per game (3.8) and fourth in field goal percentage (39.7%) and opponents' 3PT percentage (25.7%),
• Seven different SJC players are scoring at least 5.0 points per game with two averaging north of 10.0 PPG
• St. Joe's averages 62.9 PPG and is 8-3 overall on the road this winter

Emmanuel:

• The Saints head into the conference championship having won seven-consecutive games
• Emmanuel leads the GNAC in field goal percentage (40.9%), offensive rebounds per game (17.1), rebound margin per game (8.5), assists per game (17.9) and steals per game (12.2) and rank second in scoring average (70.7) and rebounds per game (46.0)
• Six different Emmanuel players are averaging at least 6.0 PPG including a pair contributing more than 10 PPG
• Emmanuel is 11-3 at home this season having lost to Suffolk (73-59, Feb. 1), Rhode Island College (62-55, Dec. 9,), and St. John Fisher (76-68, Nov. 17)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Saint Joseph's:

• (#33) Sophomore guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) leads the Monks with 11.6 points per game and contributes 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest; the first-year starter ranks second in the GNAC in three-point percentage (36.2%, 51-141) and three-pointers made (51)
• (#12) Junior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) is averaging 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game and ranks sixth in the conference in both three-point percentage (32.6%) and three pointers made (46)
• (#5) Senior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) is contributing 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and ranks second in the GNAC in free throw shooting percentage (80.0%) and fourth in three-point shooting percentage (34.1%)

Emmanuel:

• (#1) Senior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) leads the country with 21 double-doubles on the year and ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring (19.2 PPG) and third in both rebounding (11.9 RPG) and field goal percentage (48.5%)
• (#24) Senior guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) averages 10.4 points per game and ranks second in the conference with 81 steals; Weaver scored her 1,000th career point in Thursday's win over Suffolk to become the 25th Emmanuel player to reach the milestone
• (#45) Sophomore forward Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) has averaged nearly 12 points per game since conference play began in mid-January; in regular-season GNAC play, D'Agostino shot 45.1% from the floor to rank fifth in the conference

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (573-203, .738) - 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.

Emmanuel: Andy Yosinoff (852-288, .747) – 43rd collegiate season

Coach Yosinoff is no stranger to the GNAC tournament having led Emmanuel to 16 conference championships over his career. He's compiled an incredible 280-16 (.946) record in regular-season GNAC play and earlier this season, collected his 850th career victory to become just the 12th NCAA women's basketball coach to reach the milestone. He's one of six active WBB coaches with 850 wins and the first D-III women's coach to hit the mark.

With Thursday's win over Suffolk, the Saints posted the program's 25th season with 20 or more wins, the fourth-highest total in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball history and one season shy of the record of 26.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:

On February 15th, the Saints hosted the Monks on Emmanuel's "Senior Day" game and coasted to an 81-40 victory behind a combined 44 points for the squad's three seniors.

Following a tight first quarter that saw EC ahead 21-16 after one, Emmanuel nearly held the Monks scoreless in the second stanza to take a 35-18 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, the Saints full court press wore down the Saint Joseph's backcourt and Emmanuel extended the lead to 60-30 through three quarters of play, ultimately cruising to the 81-40 win.

Ramirez-Tejeda scored 18 to go with 10 boards, Weaver chipped in with 15 points and six assists while fellow senior Caitlin Cipriano (Waterbury, Conn.) scored a season-high 11 points.

Freshman Bri Jordan (Gray, Maine) was the lone Monk in double-figures with 16 points off the bench as the Monks starting five combined to score just 10 points in the loss.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Over 26 all-time meetings, Emmanuel owns a 19-7 series record vs. Saint Joseph's. Emmanuel has won the last two meetings including the 2019 GNAC Championship contest in a 65-64 instant classic last year, handing the Monks their first loss of the season and snapping a 51-game home winning streak.

Prior to the crushing loss in the 2019 GNAC Championship, the Monks had defeated the Saints in five-consecutive meetings.

POSTSEASON 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.

As the top seed in the 2016 conference tournament, Saint Joseph's defeated Emmanuel, 66-62, in the GNAC Championship and the Monks claimed their second-consecutive title with an overtime 81-70 win over the Saints in the 2017 GNAC Championship. St. Joe's made it three in a row with a 73-59 victory over Suffolk University in the 2018 GNAC Championship before EC stunned them in the finals last season to end the reign.

The Monks are 20-7 in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.

The Saints are in the midst of their 25th GNAC Tournament run and have dominated the conference with 16 GNAC Championships. Saturday's contest marks Emmanuel's 21st appearance in the GNAC title match.

Emmanuel owns an incredible 61-8 (.884) GNAC Tournament record and has advanced past the first round in 24 of 25 seasons – the only hiccup coming in 2014, when #8 Norwich upset the top-seeded Saints, 84-78 in overtime.

Head to head in the tournament, Emmanuel is 3-2 all-time against Saint Joseph's. Emmanuel topped the Monks 71-52 in the 2009 GNAC Quarterfinals and posted wins in the GNAC Championship game in 2012 (68-57) and in 2019 (65-64) while the Monks came out on top in the title game in 2016 (66-62) and 2017 (81-70 OT).

THANKS IN PART TO EMMANUEL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION