Women's Hoops Drops GNAC Contest To Monks Tuesday, 71-52

STANDISH, Maine - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team battled, but ultimately fell to the Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJC) Monks, 71-52, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown on Mike McDevitt Court inside the Harold Alfond Center Tuesday evening. The loss snaps the Blue Jays' three-game win streak and drops them to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the GNAC, while the Monks have now won nine-striaght games, improve to 10-1 overall, and a perfect 4-0 in league play.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 52, Saint Joseph's 71
Records: USJ 4-6 (2-1 GNAC), SJC 10-1 (4-0 GNAC),
Location: Harold Alfond Center | Standish, Maine

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Monks held the lead for the duration of play, but the Blue Jays remained within striking distance until midway through the second quarter. Clinging to a 19-16 lead with 8:11 to go before the break, the hosts kicked off a 17-4 run on the way to holding a 36-22 cushion going into intermission.

USJ managed to cut the SJC lead down to seven points, 43-36, with 5:31 left in the third period, but Saint Joseph's essentially put the game out of reach with a 12-2 run to close out the penultimate quarter and take a 55-38 advantage heading into the final stanza.

The Monks went on to hold a game-high 20-point lead, 66-46, after SJC junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) hit a jump shot with 3:59 left in the fourth frame. Two quick buckets by USJ trimmed the deficit to 16 (66-50) with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, but the Blue Jays were unable to get any closer.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Sophomore forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) continued her strong offensive output into the Blue Jays' first game of 2022, leading all players with 20 points (9-15 FG) to go with five rebounds to power USJ. It marks the third straight game Ouellette has scored 20-plus points in a contest. Senior Cheyenne-Mone Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) added 10 points (5-10 FG) with eight rebounds, while classmate Deanna De La Cruz (Winsted, Conn.) provided a spark off the bench, scoring eight points (4-7 FG) to go with five boards in 15 minutes of floor time.

SJC's sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) put forth a tremendous effort and nearly posted a triple-double finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to go along with six steals in the victory for the Monks. Senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) led the Monks with 16 points, while Howe tallied 15 points (7-13 FG) with five rebounds and three assists and senior guard Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) added nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, and two assists.

The Monks held a commanding 35-4 advantage in points off turnovers. The Blue Jays committed a season-high 30 turnovers while the Monks had 13 miscues in the conference contest. USJ was also 0-5 from three-point distance, the first time the Blue Jays failed to make a three-pointer since falling to Elms College, 67-54, on December 8th, 2018.

More information soon to follow...

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