STANDISH, Maine –Saint Joseph's College (13-3, 3-0 GNAC) cruised past Thomas College (2-13, 1-7 NAC), 77-42, in a non-conference women's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.
THE LEAD
Saint Joseph's put the game away very early, as the hosts opened play with an 11-0 run and maintained the upper hand with a 23-8 lead heading into the second quarter. Freshman guardKelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) scored 11 in the opening frame and led all scorers with 16 points in the victory.
The Monks held a 39-23 advantage heading into intermission and owned a game-high 40-point (71-31) cushion after sophomore Hayley Quirion (Augusta, Maine) drilled a three-pointer with 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's has now won five-consecutive games with an average winning margin of 20.4 points during the impressive stretch. Thomas has lost seven consecutive contests and has yet to win a game during the month of January.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S
- Senior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) posted 15 points with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals
- Freshman guard Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine) netted 12 points off a 3-5 three-point shooting effort in 15 minutes off the bench
- Sophomore forward Brianna Holdren (Portland, Maine) contributed eight points with three boards
- Freshman Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) scored six points and picked up a pair of steals
- Junior guard Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) registered four points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals
- Junior forward Molly Mack (Portland, Maine/McAuley) pulled down five caroms in seven minutes of playing time
- Junior guard Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) dealt five assists
LEADERS – THOMAS
- Senior forward Katie McAllister (Pittston, Maine) led the Terriers with 13 points with an 11-12 free-throw shooting effort
- Senior forward Ashleigh Gagne (Waterville, Maine) recorded seven points with seven boards
- Junior guard Sarah Pepin (Buxton, Maine) scored seven points in 19 minutes off the bench
- Junior guard Tess McClenahan (Salmon, Idaho) added six points and four rebounds
TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's shot 46% (29-63) overall, 45.5% (10-22) from three-point land, and 56.3% (9-16) from the free-throw line on the evening. Thomas shot 31.1% (14-45) from the field, 30% (3-10) from downtown, and 91.7% (11-12) from the charity stripe in the losing bid.
The Monks posted advantages in rebounds (36-29), assists (26-11), turnovers (11-25), points off turnovers (30-14), second chance points (11-7), points in the paint (28-12), and bench points (38-10) in the victory.
NOTEWORTHY
The Monks netted the second-most three-pointers (10) in program history in tonight's victory…the team record is 11 and was achieved in a win over Maine-Farmington on November 24th, 2014…St. Joe's tallied 26 assists, the most helpers since the Monks dealt 27 versus Maine-Fort Kent on January 7th, 2012…the program record is 34 (reached twice)…12 different SJC players scored and 16 played overall.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 58-5 in the history of the series with Thomas College and has now defeated the Terriers in nine consecutive meetings dating back to the 2007-08 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's returns to conference play on Saturday with a home contest versus reigning GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales University (15-1, 5-0 GNAC). Tip-off is slated for 2:00 PM.
#GOMONKS
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.