STANDISH, ME - University of Southern Maine (4-1) defeated Saint Joseph's (2-3), 67-50, at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday evening. Huskies' guard Curran Leighton '13 (Dover, NH) scored a game-high 20 points and added 8 rebounds in the victory. With the win, USM retains possession of the Costello Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the rivalry match.

Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley), who was 3-3 from beyond the arc, netted 12 points and 5 boards for the Monks in defeat. Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) added 9 points and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) chipped in with 7 points for St. Joe's.

The Monks trailed the Huskies, 36-19, going into intermission, but six unanswered points to open the second stanza, capped by a Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH), provided the Royal Blue faithful with a glimmer of hope. Southern Maine quashed the SJC optimism with an 11-1 run in the subsequent three minutes and held a comfortable 47-27 lead with 15:14 remaining. Renee Nicholas '12 (Sebago, ME/Lake Region) scored 8 of her 12 points during the USM surge.

St. Joe's managed to cut the deficit to 11 points on a pair of occasions in the final 15 minutes, but USM kept the Monks safely at bay. St. Joe's played markedly better in the second stanza, but the Monks' first half woes - 26.1% (6-23) from the floor and 13 turnovers - would be too much to overcome against the nationally-ranked Huskies.

Haley Johnson '10 (West Simsbury, CT) grabbed a game-high 12 boards and added 8 points for USM.

St. Joe's shot 29.5% (13-44) from the field, 5-11 (45.5%) from three-point distance, and 65.5% (19-29) from the FT line in the loss.

USM made 43.1% (25-58) of their shots from the floor, 23.5% (4-17) from beyond the arc, and 56.5% (13-23) from the charity stripe in the triumph.

Saint Joseph's will host Thomas College on Wednesday at 5:30 PM, while Southern Maine will host Bowdoin College on Tuesday at 5:30 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Southern Me. vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
11/29/09 5:30pm at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
SOUTHERN ME. 67, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 50
SOUTHERN ME. (4-1)
Curran Leighton 6-11 8-11 20; Renee Nicholas 5-7 1-2 12; Haley Johnson 3-8
2-2 8; Kaylie DeMillo 3-8 0-0 8; Courtney Cochran 3-5 1-4 7; Nicole Paradis
3-8 0-0 6; Meredith Reid 1-3 0-0 3; Ruthie Briggs 1-1 1-2 3; Audrey Shutts
0-0 0-0 0; Brooke Stevens 0-7 0-2 0; Kristen Hurd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58
13-23 67.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (2-3)
Carolyn Freeman 3-8 3-6 12; Meghan Daigle 2-7 5-8 9; Allie Parent 2-10 2-4
7; Megan McDevitt 2-2 0-0 5; Allison Miner 1-4 3-5 5; Casey Drake 1-1 2-2 4;
Danyelle Shufelt 1-6 2-2 4; Ashley Geel 1-5 2-2 4; Jess Bridges 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 13-44 19-29 50.
Southern Me...................   36   31  -   67
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   19   31  -   50
3-point goals--Southern Me. 4-17 (Kaylie DeMillo 2-7; Renee Nicholas 1-1;
Meredith Reid 1-3; Nicole Paradis 0-3; Brooke Stevens 0-2; Curran Leighton
0-1), St. Joseph's (Me.) 5-11 (Carolyn Freeman 3-3; Allie Parent 1-3; Megan
McDevitt 1-1; Danyelle Shufelt 0-2; Ashley Geel 0-1; Jess Bridges 0-1).
Fouled out--Southern Me.-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-Ashley Geel.
Rebounds--Southern Me. 39 (Haley Johnson 11), St. Joseph's (Me.) 31 (Allison
Miner 5; Carolyn Freeman 5). Assists--Southern Me. 17 (Nicole Paradis 7),
St. Joseph's (Me.) 8 (Casey Drake 4). Total fouls--Southern Me. 21, St.
Joseph's (Me.) 16. Technical fouls--Southern Me.-None, St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None. A-358
USM Wins Costello Cup