STANDISH, ME - Saint Joseph's (0-1) held a slim 23-22 lead over University of New England (1-0) heading into halftime, but the Nor'easters outscored the Monks 44-19 in the second stanza to earn a 66-42 victory at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday afternoon. Allison Miner '10 (Pembroke, NH) led all SJC scorers with 10 points and added 5 rebounds in the contest, which marked the season opener for both teams.

Kelley Paradis '12 (Newport, ME) led all scorers with 15 points and added 4 caroms and 3 assists to her stat line. The sophomore guard was 6-9 from the field and 2-3 from the charity stripe in the victory.

The outcome wasn't quite how Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83, who returns to the SJC bench after six seasons at USM, would have scripted it, but the Monks, betrayed partially by a lack of depth due to some key injuries, showed flashes of things to come. 388 fans - the most for a women's game in recent memory - flocked to the Alfond Center to witness the legendary coach's 2009 debut. McDevitt is the most successful women's basketball coach in program history and ranks highly in the NCAA DIII record books in both career wins and career winning percentage.

Neither team was in sync in the early going, as the score stood at 8-7, UNE, after 9:15 of play. Paradis sank a three-pointer at the 10:27 mark to extend the visitor's lead, but five straight points from the Monks, courtesy of a pair of Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) freebies and a trey by Allie Parent '11 (Camden, ME) put the Royal Blue up, 12-11, with 8:46 left in the first half.

A five-point lead (20-15) with 1:34 remaining in the first quickly dissipated, as the Nor'easters went on a 7-0 surge, capped by a Beth Suggs '13 (Bath, ME) layup with 23 tics on the clock, to take a 22-20 lead. The Monks plan for the final shot in the opening period worked, as Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) sent a pass to Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME), who sank a shot from beyond the arc with four seconds left in the first to give the hosts a 23-22 lead going into the break. Overall, the lead changed hands on six occasions in the first half.

St. Joe's had at least a share of the lead for the first four minutes of the second stanza, but a bucket from Miner at the 16:06 mark would be the last advantage (28-26) the Monks would have on this day. UNE scored six unanswered points and led 32-29 with 14:06 remaining.

A free throw from Jess Bridges '13 (Oakland, ME) and a jumpshot from Drake made it a one-point game with 12:28 to go, but the game's complexion was about to change, as the Nor'easters went on a 22-3 run in the subsequent seven minutes to gain control of the contest. Paradis notched eight of her game-high 15 points during the stretch.

UNE recorded 22 points off turnovers in the second half, as the Monks coughed up the ball 14 times and the Nor'easters grabbed 7 steals in the latter period. The visitors also netted 22 bench points and 16 points in the paint in the second half.

Overall, the Nor'easters shot 41.8% (23-55) from the field, 23.1% (3-13) from beyond the arc, and 70.8% (17-24) from the line in the victory.

St. Joe's shot 29.8% (14-47) from the floor, 14.3% (2-14) from three-point range, and 70.6% (12-17) from the line in the loss. SJC held a 37-29 advantage on the glass, but committed 25 turnovers while the visitors gave up the ball 15 times.

For the Monks, Drake totaled 8 points, 4 boards and 3 assists and was 6-8 from the line, Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) added 8 caroms and 7 points, and Parent chipped in with 7 points and 6 boards. Freeman grabbed 8 rebounds in the losing effort.

For the Nor'easters, Margo Russell '12 (Madison, ME), Michelle Williams '13 (South Berwick, ME) and Katie Diggins '10 (Merrimack, NH) all scored eight points. Diggins added a team-high six boards and Chelsey Meszaros '11 (North Clarendon, VT) netted seven points and four boards. Williams and Kari Pelletier '12 (South Paris, ME) both collected three steals for UNE.

St. Joe's will next play on Friday, November 20^th against Thomas College in the Colby Invitational Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM. University of New England will host University of Southern Maine on Tuesday, November 17^th at 6:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Univ. of New England vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
11/15/09 1:00pm at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
UNIV. OF NEW ENGLAND 66, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 42
UNIV. OF NEW ENGLAND (1-0)
Kelley Paradis 6-9 2-3 15; Margo Russell 2-4 4-6 8; Michelle Williams 3-6
2-2 8; Katie Diggins 3-6 2-3 8; Chelsey Meszaros 3-6 1-3 7; Carrie Bunnell
2-6 0-0 5; Kari Pelletier 1-3 2-2 4; Beth Suggs 2-5 0-0 4; Katie Ziemnik 1-4
0-0 3; Annie Foster 0-2 2-2 2; Eden Cianciolo 0-0 2-3 2; Lyndie Libby 0-2
0-0 0; April Mroz 0-2 0-0 0; Liz LeBlanc 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 17-24 66.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (0-1)
Allison Miner 4-7 2-3 10; Casey Drake 1-7 6-8 8; Allie Parent 3-6 0-0 7;
Ashley Geel 2-8 3-4 7; Megan McDevitt 1-4 0-0 3; Jess Bridges 1-5 1-2 3;
Meghan Daigle 1-2 0-0 2; Carolyn Freeman 1-6 0-0 2; Melanie Cloutier 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 14-47 12-17 42.
Univ. of New England..........   22   44  -   66
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   23   19  -   42
3-point goals--Univ. of New England 3-13 (Carrie Bunnell 1-3; Katie Ziemnik
1-2; Kelley Paradis 1-1; Chelsey Meszaros 0-2; Kari Pelletier 0-1; Lyndie
Libby 0-2; April Mroz 0-1; Michelle Williams 0-1), St. Joseph's (Me.) 2-14
(Allie Parent 1-1; Megan McDevitt 1-3; Jess Bridges 0-3; Carolyn Freeman
0-2; Melanie Cloutier 0-1; Casey Drake 0-4). Fouled out--Univ. of New
England-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. Rebounds--Univ. of New England 29
(Katie Diggins 6), St. Joseph's (Me.) 37 (Ashley Geel 8; Carolyn Freeman 8).
Assists--Univ. of New England 14 (Kari Pelletier 5), St. Joseph's (Me.) 11
(Casey Drake 3; Carolyn Freeman 3). Total fouls--Univ. of New England 16,
St. Joseph's (Me.) 23. Technical fouls--Univ. of New England-None, St.
Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-388