STANDISH, ME - Norwich University (15-5, 7-1 GNAC) outlasted Saint Joseph's (10-11, 4-4 GNAC), 59-57, in GNAC Women's Basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. The Monks trailed by six at halftime, but a second-stanza rally fell just short against the Cadets, who continue to sit atop the conference standings. Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) led the Royal Blue with 16 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds in the loss.

Saint Joseph's came out of the gate on fire and held an 11-2 lead after the opening minutes. Norwich shot back to take the lead at the 8:14 mark of the first half and didn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, although a late surge by the Monks made for some tense moments in the closing seconds for the visitors from Vermont.

Norwich junior forward Christine Daniels (Concord, NH) opened the game scoring with a two-point basket at the 18:23 mark, but Saint Joseph's rattled off an 11-0 run over the next 2:27 of play to grab an early lead. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) scored six of her 14 points during the SJC outburst.

The Cadets followed suit with a 13-4 run of their own, with a three-pointer from Erica Rate '10 (Weymouth, MA) with 8:39 remaining in the first half tying the game at 15 apiece. Over the next two minutes, Norwich blanked St. Joe's 9-0 and held a 24-15 advantage with 6:25 left in the opening period.

The Monks refused to go away, however, and crept back into the action with a 9-2 surge, as Daigle netted four points to help St. Joe's cut the deficit to 26-24 with 2:38 before the break. Daniels drained a jumper at the 1:21 mark and Tara Stevenson '12 (Watertown, CT) sank a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining in the first half to give the visitors a 30-24 lead going into intermission.

Ally Daniels '10 (Concord, NH) led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, while Daigle netted 10 and added 5 caroms for the Monks in the opening half.

The Cadets pushed their lead to a game-high 10 points, 42-32, 4:24 into the second stanza after Stevenson made a layup to cap a 12-6 run. Saint Joseph's cut the advantage back down to four points with a pair of buckets from Geel and another from Daigle and trailed 42-38 with 13:20 to play.

The Norwich lead was back up to eight points, 46-38, after Stevenson made a mid-range jumpshot at the 10:53 mark, but a three-pointer from Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) and a Geel basket, which was made in transition after Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) grabbed a loose ball, cut the deficit down the 46-43 just a minute later.

The Monks managed to keep the game within reach over the following seven minutes and chopped the Norwich lead down to three points again, 52-49, when Amelia Lamb '12 (Topsham, ME) hit a shot in the paint at the 2:43 mark. On the Cadets' next trip down the floor, a three by Rate put the visitors back up by six 20 seconds later.

The SJC deficit stood for the next minute and a half, and a clutch longball from McDevitt made it a three-point game, 55-52, with 43 seconds left. Shufelt's quickness created a turnover that ended with the freshman guard converting a fast break layup and cutting the Cadet lead to 55-54 with 18 seconds on the clock.

Saint Joseph's had a foul to give before bonus, and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) fouled on consecutive in-bounds plays to send Rate to the line for Norwich. The senior made both freebies and Ally Daniels corralled a loose ball on the subsequent SJC in-bounds play and streaked down the floor for an easy lay-in to make it a five-point game with three seconds to go. McDevitt was fouled on an attempt from beyond the arc with 0.2 seconds left and made all three shots from the line to make the final score 59-57, Norwich.

For St. Joe's, Geel netted 14 points with 8 boards and 2 blocks and McDevitt added 12 points, 5 caroms and 3 assists. Drake contributed with 6 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the loss.

For Norwich, Ally Daniels scored a game-high 17 and added 7 boards, Stevenson scored 12 and Rate chipped in with 11 in the triumph.

Saint Joseph's shot 41.4% (24-58) overall, 21.4% (3-14) from beyond the arc, and 75% (6-8) from the line, while Norwich shot 37.1% (23-62) from the field, 28.6% (4-14) from three-point distance and 90% (9-10) from the charity stripe. The Monks held a 39-34 advantage on the glass and registered 19 assists on 24 field goals, but coughed up the ball 17 times in the losing effort.

Both teams will play host to GNAC counterparts on Tuesday, as Saint Joseph's will take on Suffolk University (12-8, 6-2 GNAC) and Norwich will entertain Rivier College. Tip-off for both games is set for 5:30 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Norwich vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
2/6/10 1:00pm at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
NORWICH 59, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 57
NORWICH (15-5, (7-1 GNAC))
Ally Daniels 8-20 0-0 17; Tara Stevenson 5-8 2-2 12; Erica Rate 3-8 2-2 11;
Christine Daniels 3-7 2-2 8; Jess Jaggars 1-6 3-4 5; Natalie Marchese 2-5
0-0 4; Laurel McWilliams 1-4 0-0 2; Kylie Cowens 0-2 0-0 0; Jessalyn Sweeney
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 9-10 59.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (10-11,(4-4 GNAC))
Meghan Daigle 8-12 0-0 16; Ashley Geel 6-14 2-4 14; Megan McDevitt 3-12 3-3
12; Casey Drake 3-7 0-0 6; Amelia Lamb 2-2 0-0 4; Melanie Cloutier 1-1 1-1
3; Danyelle Shufelt 1-7 0-0 2; Carolyn Freeman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 6-8
57.
Norwich.......................   30   29  -   59
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   24   33  -   57
3-point goals--Norwich 4-14 (Erica Rate 3-7; Ally Daniels 1-3; Natalie
Marchese 0-1; Laurel McWilliams 0-1; Kylie Cowens 0-1; Jessalyn Sweeney
0-1), St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-14 (Megan McDevitt 3-9; Danyelle Shufelt 0-3;
Carolyn Freeman 0-2). Fouled out--Norwich-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None.
Rebounds--Norwich 34 (Ally Daniels 7), St. Joseph's (Me.) 39 (Meghan Daigle
11). Assists--Norwich 16 (Natalie Marchese 4), St. Joseph's (Me.) 19
(Carolyn Freeman 4; Casey Drake 4; Danyelle Shufelt 4). Total fouls--Norwich
14, St. Joseph's (Me.) 11. Technical fouls--Norwich-None, St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None. A-248