BRUNSWICK, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (9-1) defeated #9 Bowdoin College (9-2), 60-55, in the 2022 Coastal Classic Invitational opener on Saturday afternoon.

In a contest featuring 15 lead changes and seven tie scores, the Monks managed to hold off the Polar Bears – ranked ninth nationally in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll – largely due to offensive execution and wise clock management in the closing minutes.

The Polar Bears jumped out to an 12-3 lead, but Saint Joseph's closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run to close the gap to 14-11 after ten minutes of play.

The teams traded the lead eight times in the second period as Bowdoin clung to a slim 26-25 edge at the break.

Saint Joseph's outscored Bowdoin 18-14 in the third quarter to carry a 43-40 lead into the final frame, where Bowdoin opened the period on a 6-0 run to take a 46-43 edge with eight minutes to go. Tied at 48 apiece minutes later, a backdoor layup by sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) gave the Monks the lead for good.

Despite Bowdoin closing the gap to a single point on four occasions, the Polar Bears could never tie or regain the lead over the final minutes of the contest.

Hurley had a double-double for Saint Joseph's, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds while senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) had a team-high 19 points for the Monks.

Bowdoin was paced by a game-high 23 points and eight caroms from Sela Kay while Megan Tan had 11 points and seven rebounds.

With a win in the first meeting between the squads since the 1999-2000 season, the Monks improve to 10-10 all-time versus the Polar Bears.

Saint Joseph's returns to action on Tuesday with a home game versus conference-rival University of Saint Joseph. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 PM.

THANKS IN LARGE PART TO BOWDOIN COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

*Complete game statistics will be posted as soon as they become available*