STANDISH, Maine - Third-seeded Saint Joseph's College (22-4) will play at top-seeded Emmanuel College (24-1) in the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Championship on Sunday at 3:00 PM.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Saint Joseph's defeated second-seeded Albertus Magnus College, 78-62, in a GNAC Tournament semifinal in New Haven yesterday afternoon. Sophomore guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) came off the bench to lead four SJC players in double digits with 15 points while junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) netted 14, senior guard Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) scored 13, and sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
The Monks surged past #6 Rivier University, 88-70, in GNAC quarterfinal action on Mike McDevitt Court on Wednesday night as senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) tallied 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists and Jayne Howe added 17 to help St. Joe's advance to the GNAC semifinals for the 10th-consecutive season.
The Saints advanced to the conference title bout and will be making their 22nd appearance in the GNAC Championship after posting a pair of convincing tournament triumphs over the last four days.
Emmanuel toppled #4 Regis College, 84-60, in semifinal action yesterday and featured a balanced attack in the victory, as 12 different players scored with sophomore Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) leading the way with 14 points. Graduate Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) and freshman Yannie Chan (Hong Kong, China) added 12 points apiece in the second-round win.
Saints senior Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) netted 14 points to help lift Emmanuel to a 69-47 quarterfinal victory over #8 Norwich University on Wednesday evening. Fiin added 13 points and Matela added 11 points and five steals off the bench. In total, the Saints forced 30 Cadets turnovers, resulting in 18 steals for Emmanuel.
BRACKETOLOGY:
First Round - Tuesday, February 22
#8 Norwich def. #9 Lasell, 58-48
#5 Saint Joseph CT def. #12 JWU, 65-50
#6 Rivier def. #11 Anna Maria, 93-67
#7 Elms def. #10 Colby-Sawyer, 66-55
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 23
#1 Emmanuel def. #8 Norwich, 69-47
#4 Regis def. #5 Saint Joseph CT, 68-50
#3 Saint Joseph's Maine def. #6 Rivier, 88-70
#2 Albertus Magnus def. #7 Elms, 93-57
Semifinals - Saturday, February 26
#1 Emmanuel def. #4 Regis, 84-60
#3 Saint Joseph's Maine def. #2 Albertus Magnus, 78-62
Championship - Sunday, February 27
#3 Saint Joseph's Maine at #1 Emmanuel, 3:00 PM
WHAT'S NEXT?
The winner of the GNAC Championship game earns an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 4th. The complete national tournament bracket will be announced on Monday.
SEASON AT A GLANCE:
Saint Joseph's:
- The Monks have won 11 of their last 12 games and own a 12-2 record on the road this winter
- Saint Joseph's leads the conference in scoring average (76.0 PPG), points (1.977), field goal percentage (44.7%), 3FG per game (8.2), 3FG% (36.6%), FT% (74.4%), and fewest personal fouls per game (12.5)
- St. Joe's also ranks second in free throws made per game (13.0), assists per game (17.7), and scoring defense (55.0 PPG)
- Eight different SJC players are scoring at least 5.6 points per game
- St. Joe's averages 73.4 PPG in 14 games on the road this season
Emmanuel:
- The Saints head into the conference championship having won 20-consecutive games, the sixth-longest active streak in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball
- Emmanuel leads the GNAC in FG made per game (29.0), rebounds per game (47.4), assists per game (18.8), steals per game (14.2), blocks per game (4.3), and scoring defense (53.6 PPG)
- Seven Saints come into today's game averaging at least 5.2 points per game
- Emmanuel is 15-1 at home this winter as the Saints' lone loss (56-48) of the season came at the hands of Amherst College, ranked fourth nationally at the time, on November 30th
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Saint Joseph's:
- (#12) Senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) ranks second in the conference in scoring average (17.9 PPG), points (465), three-pointers made (66), and 3FG% (41.8%); among all currently active NCAA DIII players, she ranks third in FT% (85.3%), seventh in 3FG made (229), and 10th in career points (1,669)
- (#20) Sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) has been an all-around contributor for the Monks this season and averages 10.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game; she leads the league in defensive rebounds (194) and is ranked second in assists (94)
- (#30) Junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) is the Monks' third-leading scorer and averages 9.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest; she is currently ranked fifth in the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.8)
Emmanuel:
- (#45) Senior forward Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) ranked second in the GNAC in double-doubles this season with eight and enters the Sunday averaging 11.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game while shooting 50.0% from the field to rank second overall in the GNAC in field goal percentage.
- (#4) Graduate student guard Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) is enjoying her most efficient offensive season at the collegiate level averaging a team-high 11.8 points while shooting at a 45.6% clip from downtown in GNAC play to lead in three-point field goal percentage while her 41.4% line throughout the year ranks 13th among NCAA Division III shooters.
- (#14) Senior forward Riley Lahiff (North Attleboro, Mass.) keys the Saints defensive unit with 64 steals on the season, ranking first among players in the GNAC and has helped Emmanuel's perimeter defense hold GNAC opponents to a 24.8% shooting percentage from downtown.
ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:
Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (602-209, .743) – 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 last 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.
Emmanuel: Andy Yosinoff (874-210, .806) - 45th collegiate season
In his 45th year with the Saints, Yosinoff is no stranger to the GNAC tournament having led Emmanuel to 17 conference championships over his career. He's compiled an incredible 296-16 (.949) record in regular-season GNAC play and earlier this season, he moved into 10th all-time in career coaching victories among all NCAA Divisions for women's basketball coaches.
THE LAST TIME WE MET:
A GNAC instant classic, the Saints and Monks last meeting on Feb. 3 needed overtime to decide the winner, in what would become an important game in the GNAC standings for the postseason. The last possession proved to be the difference maker as Fiin connected with Saints sophomore Allison Wild (Tewksbury, Mass.) on an inbounds lob pass and made lay-in with 0.5 seconds remaining in ECs 82-80 road win. Fiin led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting in the win while Stapelfeld scored a team-high 19 points for the Monks.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Over 29 all-time meetings, Emmanuel owns a 22-7 series record – including a 15-2 mark at home - versus Saint Joseph's. Emmanuel has won the last five meetings including the 2019 and 2020 GNAC Championship contests
Prior to the 2019 GNAC Championship, the Monks had defeated the Saints in five-consecutive meetings.
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.
The Monks are 22-8 in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.
The Saints are in the midst of their 26th GNAC Tournament run and have dominated the conference with 17 GNAC Championships. Saturday's contest marks Emmanuel's 22nd appearance in the GNAC title match.
Emmanuel owns an incredible 64-8 (.884) GNAC Tournament record and has advanced past the first round in 25 of 26 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 4-2 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), 2019 (65-64) and 2020 (67-50) 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
