FARMINGTON, ME – Saint Joseph's (1-0) led wire to wire in a season-opening 56-46 victory over University of Maine-Farmington (0-1) on Wednesday night at Dearborn Gymnasium. Senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards in the SJC victory.

The two teams -- combining for 28 turnovers and 23.2 percent shooting -- slogged through the opening half with the Monks outscoring the Beavers 13-3 over the first eight minutes. The Monks took a 22-10 lead on a Lindsay Moore '14 (Somersworth, N.H.) basket, but Bianca Stoutamyer (Madison, Maine) and Emma Morrison (Saco, Maine) each scored to cut the deficit to 22-14 at intermission.

UMF knocked the St. Joe's lead to 27-23 five minutes into the second half on an Emily Higgins (Saco, Maine) jumper, but Allie Parent '12 (Camden, Maine) and Mackenzie Dufour '12 (Augusta, Maine) each struck for a three pointer to build the Monks' lead to 33-23 with 11:37 to play.

The Beavers knocked the lead down to 36-31 with 8:36 remaining, but McDevitt followed by draining a three and Moore hit a basket to push the Monks to a 41-31 advantage. UMF was never closer than eight points the rest of the way as St. Joe's headed to the locker room with a 56-46 win.

Saint Joseph's shot 34.5% (19-55) from the field, 33.3% (6-18) from downtown, and 70.6% (12-17) from the free-throw line while Farmington shot 27.9% (17-61) from the floor, 18.8% (3-16) from long range, and 90% (9-10) from the charity stripe. The Monks held advantages in assists (15-10) and steals (8-7) while the Beavers outworked the visitors on the glass (42-38) on the evening.

For Geel, the double dip was the 10th of her career and her rebounding tally tied a career high. Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, Maine) provided 11 points and five assists and Moore added 10 points coming off the bench. Parent added nine points and five boards and Dufour chipped in with six points and five caroms in the triumph.

In their first collegiate action, freshmen Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) and Nicolette Kapothanasis (Westbrook, Maine) contributed two and three points, respectively, coming off the bench.

Morrison scored 13 points for UMF, while Lindsay Ranquist (Owls Head, Maine) netted 11 points in her collegiate debut.

For the Monks, the 102 combined score is the lowest in an SJC season-opening victory since St. Joe's toppled Mount Holyoke by a 69-25 margin in the 1992-93 opener. In the history of the program, Saint Joseph's is just 55-179 (.235) when scoring fewer than 60 points. On the other hand, the Monks have lost just three games in team history – with 35 consecutive wins - when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points. St. Joe's is 181-3 (.984) in such contests.

Saint Joseph's will participate in the Castleton State College Tip-Off this Friday and Saturday, beginning with an 8:00 PM game versus Elms College on Friday evening. Maine-Farmington will host the Dunkin' Donuts Tip-Off Classic Friday and Saturday and will face Maine-Presque Isle on Friday night at 7:30 PM. 

THANKS IN PART TO UMF SPORTS INFORMATION