PROVIDENCE, RI – Saint Joseph's College (11-5, 5-0 GNAC) toppled Johnson & Wales University (7-11, 3-3 GNAC), 85-49, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore forward Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) made 12 of 14 field goal attempts and netted a career-high 26 points in the lopsided victory.

With the result Saint Joseph's has now won seven consecutive games, including five conference tilts, and is undefeated in the 2012 calendar year. The Monks' current win streak is the programs longest since the 2001-02 campaign when the Royal Blue rattled off 11 straight victories

St. Joe's came out strong and jumped out to a 17-4 lead when sophomore forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) drained a pair of free throws with 13:55 left in the first half.  Johnson & Wales fought back with a 10-1 surge and trailed by four points just over two minutes later, but the Monks closed out the opening stanza with a 14-2 outburst and held a commanding 48-25 advantage heading into halftime.

The Monks shot 62.1% from the field and netted 28 of their 48 points in the paint in the first half. St. Joe's capped the contest having shot a season-high 64.7% (33-51) from the field, including a 5-8 effort from three-point range, and scored 52 points in the paint in the victory.

It was more of the same in the second half as Saint Joseph's continued to build on their lead before cruising to the 85-49 victory.  The Monks held a game-high 46-point cushion after junior guard Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) made a layup with 7:38 remaining in the contest.

For the Monks, senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) registered 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Young tallied 12 points and three blocked shots, Shufelt added nine points, and senior guard Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) contributed six points.

For the Wildcats, freshman Natalie DiCocco (Media, Pa.) scored 12 points while junior Chrissy Toth (Queens, N.Y.) added 10 points in the setback.  

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-3 in the history of the series with Johnson & Wales. Prior to this afternoon, the Monks' highest point total versus the Wildcats came in a 70-44 victory over JWU on January 17th, 2011.

St. Joe's travels to Bates College on Tuesday for the team's final non-conference contest of the season in a 7:00 PM tip-off. Johnson & Wales is off until Thursday when the team travels to Saint Joseph (Conn.) for a GNAC tilt slated to begin at 7:00 PM. 

THANKS IN PART TO JOHNSON & WALES SPORTS INFORMATION

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.