STANDISH, Maine – Third-seeded Saint Joseph's College (20-4, 14-2 GNAC) will host #6 Rivier University (14-11, 9-8 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

OVERVIEW

Tuesday night's victor advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will face the winner of another quarterfinal matchup - #7 Elms College at #2 Albertus Magnus College – on Friday evening, tip-off TBD. The higher seed serves as host throughout tourney play.

The other branch of the bracket features quarterfinal contests between #8 Norwich University at #1 Emmanuel College and #5 University of Saint Joseph at #4 Regis College.

The winner of the GNAC Championship game, which will be played on Sunday, February 27th, earns an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 4th.

BRACKETOLOGY:

First Round - Tuesday, February 22

#8 Norwich 58, #9 Lasell 48
#5 Saint Joseph CT 65, #12 JWU 50
#6 Rivier 93, #11 Anna Maria 67
#7 Elms 66, #10 Colby-Sawyer 55

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 23

#8 Norwich at #1 Emmanuel - 7PM
#5 Saint Joseph CT at #4 Regis - 7PM
#6 Rivier at #3 Saint Joseph's Maine - 7PM
#7 Elms at #2 Albertus Magnus - 5:30 PM

Semifinals - Friday, February 25

1/8 winner vs 4/5 winner
3/6 winner vs 2/7 winner

Championship - Sunday, February 27

Final at highest remaining seed

SEASON AT A GLANCE

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks have won nine of their last 10 games and own a 9-2 record in Standish this winter
• Saint Joseph's leads the conference in scoring average (75.5 PPG), field goal percentage (44.3%), 3FG per game (8.4), 3FG% (36.8%), free throw % (74.3%), and fewest personal fouls per game (12.4)
• St. Joe's also ranks second in free throws made per game (13.0), assists per game (17.7), and fewest points per game allowed (54.1)
• Eight different SJC players are scoring at least 5.8 points per game
• St. Joe's averages 78.4 PPG in 11 games at the Harold Alfond Center this season

Rivier:

• Having won eight-consecutive games, the Raiders head into tonight's contest as one of the hottest teams in the GNAC
• Rivier leads the GNAC in free throws made (13.6) and attempted (19.1) per game and rank second in 3FG per game (7.7), 3FG% (32.3%), free throw % (71.4%) and fewest turnovers per game (15.2)
• The Raiders are 8-7 and averaging 67.4 PPG on the road this season
• Five different Rivier players are averaging at least 6.0 PPG with three contributing at least 10.0 PPG

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Saint Joseph's:

• (#12) Senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) ranks second in the conference in scoring average (18.0 PPG), points (433) and three-pointers made (61) and is third in 3FG% (41.2%); among all currently active NCAA DIII players, she ranks third in FT% (85.3%), seventh in 3FG made (224), and 10th in career points (1,637)
• Sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) has been an all-around contributor for the Monks this season and averages 11.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists; she leads the league in defensive rebounds (178) and assists (88)
• Junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) is the Monks' third-leading scorer and averages 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per contest; she is currently ranked fifth in the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.7)

Rivier:

• Sophomore guard Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) - in the midst of what might be the finest offensive season ever recorded by a GNAC women's basketball player – currently leads all of NCAA DIII with a 26.2 PPG average and leads the conference in eight statistical categories overall: FG made (238), 3FG made (85), free throws made (126), steals (61), points (687), and points per 40 minutes (29.7)
• Freshman forward Alexa Dufries averages 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is ranked fourth in the league in three-pointers made (55)
• Sophomore guard Anna Stenger contributes 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest and is currently fifth in free throws made (74)

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (600-209, .742) – 30th collegiate season

Among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, McDevitt ranks 13th among active coaches in victories and 17th in winning percentage. Only two coaches in New England have more wins and just 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 19 different seasons, the fifth-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 following the 2018-19 campaign.

With an 89-28 win over Lasell on Saturday, Coach McDevitt hit a major milestone by becoming the 24th coach in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball history to reach the 600-victory mark. He is one of just 12 active coaches to have reached the landmark.

Rivier: Deanna Purcell (14-11, .560) – second collegiate season

Purcell was named as the Raiders' head coach following the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. One of the best players in Rivier women's basketball history, she is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,192 points in 106 games played. She averaged 20.6 points per game in the Raider blue and white while shooting 50.1% from the floor in her career.

A four-time First Team All-GNAC honoree, Purcell was named as the 2012 GNAC Rookie of the Year and 2015 GNAC Player of the Year led the Raiders to the postseason all four years.

THE LAST TIME WE MET – Saint Joseph's 77, Rivier 43 (2/1/22, Standish):

The Monks held the lead for the entire game with a 17-12 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. The hosts grabbed their first double-digit advantage after junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) made a layup to lift her team to a 23-12 cushion with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter.

St. Joe's looked to put the game away early in the third quarter with a 13-3 run, which was capped with a Talon layup and the hosts on top, 46-26, with 6:08 left in the penultimate frame. The Monks led by at least 16 points for the remainder of play and attained a game-high 38-point advantage after freshman Mackenzie Currie (Merrimac, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws with 1:23 left.

Saint Joseph's shot 52.7% (29-55) from the floor while Rivier posted a season-low 22.5% (16-71) shooting performance in the setback. The Monks also held a 40-22 lead in points in the paint with a 42-30 rebounding advantage.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is 18-5 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has defeated the Raiders in six-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.

GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

The Monks have appeared in the GNAC Tournament in 13 of 14 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. The Monks are 19-1 at home – and 20-8 overall - in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.

The Raiders 3-8 all-time in GNAC postseason play and 0-8 in conference tourney games played on the road. Rivier's 93-67 first-round win over Anna Maria last night was the Raiders' first GNAC Tournament victory since they defeated University of Saint Joseph in a quarterfinal matchup in 2014.