MILTON, Mass. - #17/22 Saint Joseph's College (2-0) defeated Framingham State University (1-1), 72-59, in the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament Championship game on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks opened the game on a 9-2 run and proceeded to lead by at least four points for the remainder of the contest. With eight unanswered points at the start of the third quarter – including six from senior Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine) – Saint Joseph's held a game-high 18-point lead (41-23) and maintained a double-digit cushion for the majority of the final two frames.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks shot 89.5% (17-19) from the free throw line and committed only seven turnovers in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) was 8-8 from the charity stripe and tallied 22 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals
• Senior guard Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) added 17 points and five rebounds
• Marks contributed 13 points
• Senior forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds

LEADERS – FRAMINGHAM STATE:

• Mary Kate O'Day scored 18 points with six rebounds and three assists
• Emily Velozo netted 18 with five caroms
• Tiphani Harris pulled down a game-high 10 boards and scored seven points

OF NOTE:

McNamara, who averaged 23.5 points in two games at Curry, and Benway, who contributed 12.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two tourney tilts, garnered All-Tournament Team honors for their efforts.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 3-3 all-time versus Framingham State University and, including a 69-57 win in their last meeting (12/14/13), have defeated the Rams in consecutive meetings for the first time in the history of the matchup.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Thomas College in the team's 2018-19 home-opener on Tuesday at 5:30 PM.

IMAGE COURTESY OF CURRY COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

$website.include("/bp")