NASHUA, N.H. – Saint Joseph's College (11-1, 5-0 GNAC) defeated Rivier University (4-6, 0-3 GNAC), 74-59, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball contest on Thursday evening.

Saint Joseph's has now won 10-consecutive games as the Monks' last loss came at the hands of University of New England on November 18th.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

A slow start saw the Monks trail by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and the visitors faced a 22-19 deficit heading into the second stanza. The conference counterparts swapped the lead seven times in the second quarter and the score was tied, 34-34, with 1:52 before the break. Sophomore guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) and senior guard Grace Philippon (Glenburn, Maine) both converted layups in the closing minute to give the Monks a 38-34 edge going into intermission.

A dominant third quarter proved to be the difference, as St. Joe's outscored Rivier by a 21-9 margin and held a 59-43 lead going into the final frame. The Raiders trailed by just one point (42-41) with 6:19 left in the third, but the Monks closed out the penultimate period with a 17-2 run to essentially put the game out of reach.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's held a 34-16 lead in points in the paint and shot 88.9% (16-18) from the charity stripe in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) scored 17 points with four rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocked shots
• Senior guard Kaleigh Walsh (Windham, N.H.) was 5-for-8 from the field with 15 points and two rebounds
• Sophomore guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three steals
• Sophomore guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) came off the bench to score 12 points and grab four rebounds
• Junior forward Jayne Howe (Pembroke, Mass.) produced seven points and eight rebounds

LEADERS – RIVIER:

• Freshman forward Alexa Dufries (Leicester, Mass.) paced the Raiders with 17 points and added four caroms and four steals
• Sophomore guard Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) registered 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists
• Sophomore guard Anna Stenger (Weare, N.H.) chipped in with 11 points and five boards

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 17-5 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in five-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to conference play on Saturday with a 3:00 PM contest at Emmanuel College.

$website.include("/bp")