November 30, 2011

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (4-1) defeated Thomas College (0-4), 65-27, in a non-conference women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening. Monks senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) registered her third double-double of the young season with 14 points and 10 boards in the victory.

St. Joe's trailed out of the gate but soon posted a game-changing 17-2 run and forced 35 Thomas turnovers, including 22 in the first half, en route to the triumph. The Monks raced out to a 41-18 advantage over the first 20 minutes and proceeded to win the second half by a 24-9 margin on the way to the 38-point win.

The Terriers' nine second-half points is the fewest the Monks have allowed in a period since Lasell College netted the same amount in a 71-21 setback at the hands of the Royal Blue on February 12th, 2011.

Thomas trailed by seven, 18-11, after Elizabeth Goodall '14 (Oakfield, Maine) knocked down a three and Cassie Manning '14 (North Haverhill, N.H.) made a layup to account for five unanswered points midway through the first half.

As it turned out, the single-digit deficit would be the Terriers' last of the night as the Monks rattled off 11 straight points and held a commanding 29-11 cushion after Mackenzie Dufour '14 (Augusta, Maine) hit a jump shot at the 8:00 mark.

Saint Joseph's held at least a 20-point advantage for the remainder of play and held a game-high 43-point cushion – 63-20 -  when Lindsay Moore '14 (Somersworth, N.H.) made a layup off a Sarah Assante '15 (Standish, Maine) pass at the 8:21 mark of the second stanza.

For the Monks, Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, Maine) netted 11 points, Moore added 10 with five boards, and Nicolette Kapothanasis '15 (Westbrook, Maine/Portland) chipped in with nine points. Alyssa Grigware '13 (Biddeford, Maine) added six points and nine caroms and Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, Vt.) produced six points on the night.

Dufour and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, Maine) both grabbed four steals for Saint Joseph's.

For the Terriers, Goodall and Kristi Hilton both tallied five points and Manning collected a team-best six rebounds in the loss.

Saint Joseph's shot 36.4% (24-66) from the field, 17.6% (3-17) from three-point land, and 56% (14-25) from the free throw line. Thomas shot 25.6% (10-39) overall, 18.2% (2-11) from downtown, and 38.5% (5-13) from the FT line.

St. Joe's held advantages in rebounds (43-37) and assists (17-5) while committing just 15 turnovers in the victory.

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 54-5 in the history of the series with Thomas College and has now defeated the Terriers in five consecutive meetings. The Terriers' point total in tonight's contest is the lowest a Thomas team has ever scored against St. Joe's.

Saint Joseph's will participate in the Regis College Invitational in Weston, Massachusetts this Friday and Saturday and will face Tufts University at 7:00 PM on Friday night. Thomas will host Green Mountain College in the Terriers' 2011-12 conference-opener on Friday at 7:30 PM.