WATERVILLE, ME - Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) nearly notched a triple-double with 11 points, 10 boards and 8 blocked shots and Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) netted 15 points and 11 caroms to lift Saint Joseph's (1-1) past Thomas (0-2), 79-61, in the first round of the Colby Tournament on Friday evening.

The victory launches the Monks into the tourney championship, to be played on Saturday at 3:00 PM, against host-team Colby College. The Mules defeated Vassar College, 61-45, in the opening game of the tournament. Thomas (0-2) and Vassar will meet in the consolation game at 1:00 PM.

The double-double performance by Freeman was the 14^th of her career, while Geel now has three such efforts in just over a season donning the Royal Blue.

The Terriers held a 25-23 lead with 6:30 remaining in the first half, but St. Joe's went on a 17-7 run to close out the opening stanza, which featured eight lead changes, and carried a 40-32 lead into intermission. Freeman tallied five points for the Monks during the stretch.

Thomas managed to remain within striking distance until the Monks rattled off a 15-2 surge late in the second half to assume control of the contest. Leading 60-55 with 8:24 to go, Saint Joseph's took advantage of the long ball as Freeman, Jess Bridges '13 (Oakland, ME) and Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) all sank three-pointers during the Monks' run, which ended with the Royal Blue comfortably in the lead, 75-57, with 3:09 remaining.

For St. Joe's, McDevitt tallied 13 points with 6 boards, Allison Miner '10 (Pembroke, NH) netted 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) added 8 points, 11 caroms, 5 assists and 3 steals in the victory. Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT), making her collegiate debut, chipped in with 9 points in 13 minutes of play and Bridges scored 8 points off the bench.

Mallorie Blakney had 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half for Thomas, while Kellie Martel and Karin Bird both had 13 points for the Terriers.

Saint Joseph's held a decided 54-33 advantage in rebounds and the SJC bench accounted for 30 points, while the Terrier bench netted just 7 points. The Monks shot 42.6% (26-61) from the field, 58.3% (7-12) from three-point distance, and 62.5% (20-32) from the line in the victory.

Thomas shot 35.3% (24-68) from the floor, 29.4% (5-17) from beyond the arc, and 53.3% (8-15) from the free throw line in the losing effort.

Ironically, Head Coach Mike McDevitt's first triumph in his return to Saint Joseph's comes against the last team he defeated in the final year of his first tenure. McDevitt's Monks topped Thomas College on February 20^th, 2003.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Thomas
11/20/09 7:30 p.m. at Waterville, Maine
At Waterville, Maine
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 79, THOMAS 61
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (1-1)
Carolyn Freeman 5-10 3-4 15; Megan McDevitt 5-9 1-1 13; Ashley Geel 4-6 3-7
11; Allison Miner 4-7 1-1 9; Danyelle Shufelt 2-4 3-4 9; Allie Parent 2-7
4-5 8; Jess Bridges 3-6 1-2 8; Casey Drake 1-12 4-8 6. Totals 26-61 20-32
79.
THOMAS (0-2)
Mallorie Blakney 6-16 3-5 16; Karin Bird 5-11 3-4 13; Kellie Martel 4-14 1-2
13; Jessica Nassetta 5-11 0-0 10; Ashley Allen 2-6 1-2 5; Lynn Chaisson 1-3
0-0 2; Ashley Matchett 1-4 0-0 2; Krista Lee 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 24-68 8-15
61.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   40   39  -   79
Thomas........................   32   29  -   61
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 7-12 (Danyelle Shufelt 2-3; Megan McDevitt
2-2; Carolyn Freeman 2-2; Jess Bridges 1-1; Casey Drake 0-2; Allie Parent
0-2), Thomas 5-17 (Kellie Martel 4-8; Mallorie Blakney 1-4; Ashley Allen
0-3; Ashley Matchett 0-2). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Thomas-None.
Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 54 (Carolyn Freeman 11; Allie Parent 11),
Thomas 33 (Kellie Martel 7). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 20 (Allie Parent
5), Thomas 8 (Mallorie Blakney 3). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 13,
Thomas 20. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Thomas-None. A-175
Colby Tournament opening round