STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-0) withstood an impressive second half rally by Colby College (2-2) to defeat the Mules, 59-50, in NCAA DIII women's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks headed into halftime with a 34-14 cushion and held a game-high 24-point (40-16) lead after senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) made a layup with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter. The Mules whittled away at the sizeable SJC advantage and outscored the hosts by a 19-8 margin during the remainder of the third period and trailed 48-35 going into the fourth frame.

The Colby comeback continued through the better part of the final quarter, as the Mules cut the Monks' lead down to 53-49 when freshman forward Adaobi Nebuwa (London, England) made a layup with 2:58 remaining. The Monks managed to stem the tide by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line while maintaining possession in the closing minutes.

Overall, the contest was a tale of two halves, as the Monks "won" the first half by a 34-14 margin and the Mules took the second half by a 36-25 score. Half of Colby's scoring output in the latter two quarters was the result of an 18-for-22 FT shooting performance.

TEAM STATS:

The Monks shot 45.5% (20-44) from the field while the Mules posted a 23.1% (12-52) effort from the floor…Colby posted a stellar 82.8% (24-29) performance from the charity stripe…St. Joe's held a 31-3 lead in bench points.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Freshman guard Angelica Hurley (Groverland, Mass.) came off the bench to tally 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists
• Stapelfeld scored 14 points and was 6-for-6 from the FT line
• Junior forward Kaleigh Walsh (Windham, N.H.) scored 11 points and pulled down three rebounds
• Freshman guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) chipped in with five points, three rebounds, and three steals
• Senior forward Jordan Jabar (Waterville, Maine) pulled down six rebounds and scored three points

LEADERS – COLBY:

• Junior forward Alisha Aube (Westbrook, Maine) was 10-for-10 from the FT line with 17 points and six rebounds
• Nebuwa registered 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals
• Freshman guard Mycala Carney (Williamstown, Pa.) added nine points and two caroms

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's improves to 17-14 all-time versus Colby College and has now defeated the Mules in seven-consecutive meetings, the Monks' longest winning streak in the history of the series.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's is off until Friday, March 26th when they host Husson University in a 6:00 PM tip-off.

$website.include("/bp")