WRITTEN BY CHRIS THEODORES '25

STANDISH, Maine – #1N Saint Joseph's College (21-5) will host #3N Rivier University (14-12) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinal on Friday at 7:00 PM.

OVERVIEW:

Friday night's victor advances to the GNAC Championship and will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup - #2N Emmanuel College at #1S Albertus Magnus College – on Sunday, tip-off TBD. The higher seed serves as host throughout tourney play.

The winner of the GNAC Championship game earns an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 3rd.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Saint Joseph's toppled #4S Johnson & Wales University, 80-51, in quarterfinal action at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night. Junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) was 11-for-11 from the FT line with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals and junior guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) tallied 15 points, seven boards, and six assists in the lopsided victory.

Rivier upset #2S Regis College, 78-58 in Weston, Mass. on Tuesday evening. The Raiders had five reach double-digits in points in the triumph, as Alexa Dufries (Leicester, Mass.) netted 16 points with seven rebounds and Bea Stafford (Saunderstown, R.I.) was right behind her with 15 points.

BRACKETOLOGY:

Tuesday, February 21 – QUARTERFINALS

GAME 1: #1N Saint Joseph's def. #4S JWU, 80-51 BOX
GAME 2: #3N Rivier def. #2S Regis, 78-58 BOX
GAME 3: #2N Emmanuel def. #3S St. Joseph CT, 70-67 (OT) BOX
GAME 4: #1S Albertus Magnus def. #4N Colby-Sawyer, 75-60 BOX

Friday, February 24 - SEMIFINALS

GAME 5: #3N Rivier at #1N Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:00PM
GAME 6: #2N Emmanuel at #1S Albertus Magnus - 7:00PM

Sunday, February 26 - CHAMPIONSHIP

GAME 7: at highest remaining seed

SEASON AT A GLANCE

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks have won 17 of their last 19 games and own a 11-2 record in Standish this winter
• Nationally, St. Joes ranks sixth in 3FG% (36.1%), seventh in assists average (18.1), and 11th in scoring margin (22.3)
• Saint Joseph's leads the conference in field goal percentage (43.3%), 3FG per game (8.6), 3FG% (36.1%), free throw % (75.2%), and PPG allowed (51.3%)
• St. Joe's also ranks second in points (1840), three point attempts per game (23.7), rebound margin per game (9), APG (18.1)
• Seven different SJC players are scoring at least 5.8 points per game
• St. Joe's averages 72.4 PPG in 13 games at the Harold Alfond Center this season

Rivier:

• Rivier leads the GNAC in 3PT attempts per game (25.7), second in 3PT made per game (8.0), and steals per game (13.0).
• The Raiders are 6-7 and averaging 68.3 PPG on the road this season
• Seven different Rivier players are averaging at least 6.3 PPG with three contributing at least 10.7 PPG

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Saint Joseph's:

• (#14) Junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) leads the team in PPG (13.6), and FG% (54.1%); she ranks second in the conference in FG% (54.1%), third in 3FG% (40.3%), and fourth in FT% (79.4%)
• (#20) Junior guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) has been an all-around contributor for the Monks this season and averages 11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists; she ranks sixth in the conference in assists (77)
• (#23) Freshman guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline N.H.) is the Monks' third-leading scorer and averages 10.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per contest; she ranks fifth in the conference in FG% (49.7%)
• (#11) Junior guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) ranks first in the conference in 3FG% (44.8%) and is third in assists (97); she is the Monks' fourth-leading scorer

Rivier:

• Junior guard Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.), after a historic sophomore season averaging 26.2 PPG, she continues to be an all-around playmaker averaging 18.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists; she leads the GNAC in 3PT (83-218), ranks third in steals (71), and fourth in PPG (18.0) which is the team high
• Junior guard Hannah Muchemore (Nashua, N.H.) has been an all-around contributor for the Raiders and averages 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists; she ranks first in the conference for assists (128), and steals (91)
• Freshman forward Brianna Wilcox (Londonderry, N.H) averages 10.7 PPG, ranks third in the conference in FT% (81.5%), and fifth in steals (59)

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's: Mike McDevitt '83 (621-211, .746) – 31st collegiate season

Among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, McDevitt ranks 11th among active coaches in victories and 18th 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 21 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 in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

With an 89-28 win over Lasell on February 19th, 2022, 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: Deana Purcell (28-23, .549) third 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 and led the Raiders to the postseason all four years.

THE LAST TIME WE MET – Saint Joseph's 84, Rivier 53 (1/31/23, Nashua):

The Monks opened the game with 11 unanswered points in the first four minutes and held a 22-11 cushion heading into the second stanza. St. Joe's maintained a double-digit advantage for the entire game, including a 43-28 margin at intermission.

Saint Joseph's grabbed a game-high 31-point lead when junior guard Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) hit a three-pointer to account for the 84-53 final score with 1:11 remaining.

The Monks posted a season-high 54.5% (30-55) field goal shooting percentage while the Raiders shot 34.0% (18-53) from the field…SJC also shot 47.4% (9-19) from three-point distance – Rivier countered with an 18.2% (4-22) rate from downtown.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With a pair of wins over the Raiders this season, Saint Joseph's improved to 20-5 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in eight-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.

GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

The Monks have appeared in the GNAC Tournament in 14 of 15 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 21-1 at home – and 23-9 overall - in GNAC postseason play since joining the conference in 2007.

The Raiders 3-9 all-time in GNAC postseason play and 0-9 in conference tourney games played on the road. Rivier's 78-58 first-round win over Regis Tuesday was the Raiders' second GNAC Tournament victory since they defeated dUniversity of Saint Joseph in a quarterfinal matchup in 2014.