STANDISH, Maine – Junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) netted a career-high 27 points to help #1N Saint Joseph's College (22-5) defeat #3N Rivier University (14-13), 83-55, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Friday night.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the 2023 GNAC Championship and will host #2N Emmanuel College (22-5) in the title bout on Sunday at 1:00 PM. The Saints defeated #1S Albertus Magnus College, 66-55, in the other conference semifinal – played on the Falcons' home court in New Haven – earlier this evening. Sunday's matchup marks the seventh time since 2012 that the Monks and Saints will face off in the GNAC Championship game.
For Rivier, the loss brings a close to the 2022-23 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The teams traded the lead three times and faced four tie scores in the first six minutes of play, but the Monks turned a 12-11 edge into a 10-point (22-12) cushion by closing out the quarter with a 10-1 run.
Leading 39-25 at intermission, Talon kicked off the third frame with six unanswered points in a matter of 67 seconds to lift her team to a 20-point advantage. Up 53-33 with 3:38 left in the penultimate period, the Monks rattled off an 11-0 surge – which included three-pointers from Talon, Logan Brown (Brunswick, Maine), and Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) – over the following two minutes to grab a game-high 31-point (64-33) lead.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks shot a season-high 57.9% (33-57) from the floor and scored 27 points off 19 Rivier turnovers in the victory.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Talon went 11-for-15 from the floor – including 3-for-5 from downtown – with 27 points, three rebounds, and two assists
- Hurley added 18 points, seven boards, and three assists
- Stapelfeld contributed with 13 points, four caroms, and a pair of a steals
- Brown came off the bench to net 10 points in 16 minutes
- Senior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.)tallied six points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, and five blocked shots
LEADERS – RIVIER:
- Sophomore Alexa Dufries (Leicester, Mass.) was 10-for-20 from the floor with 22 points and six assists
- Junior Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in with 12 points, six boards, four assists, and a pair of steals
- Junior Hannah Muchemore (Nashua, N.H.) added seven points, five steals, four assists, and a pair of caroms
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory Saint Joseph's improves to 22-5 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in 10-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
