WATERVILLE, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (6-3) cruised past Thomas College (0-8), 75-41, in a non-conference women's basketball contest on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The in-state rivals struggled to find rhythm offensively in the first quarter as the Monks held a 9-3 lead after the teams combined to shoot 18.5% (5-22) in the opening frame. Leading 24-16 with 1:45 left in the second quarter, St. Joe's claimed some breathing room with a 10-2 run – thanks in large part to a pair of Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) three-pointers – to stake a 34-18 advantage heading into intermission.

Saint Joseph's extended the lead to 27 points (52-25) by kicking off the third period on an 18-5 run, which spanned nearly seven minutes and was closed out with a Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) trifecta at the 3:02 mark.

The Monks held a game-high 38-point (71-33) advantage after freshman Maddie Lebel (Hermon, Maine) connected on a pair of free throws with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks made 12-of-29 three-point attempts, scored 23 points off 25 Thomas turnovers, and held a 42-16 lead in rebounds in the victory…The Terriers went 3-for-10 from beyond the arc and scored eight points off 14 SJC turnovers.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) netted 22 points with six steals, five rebounds and three assists
• Freshman guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) tallied 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists
• Junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) added 10 points, three boards, and two assists
• Junior guard Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) came off the bench to score 10 points
• Freshman guard Maddie Lebel (Hermon, Maine) pulled down eight rebounds in just 11 minutes
• Junior guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) recorded seven points, four rebounds, and three assists

LEADERS – THOMAS:

• Kristina Perry led the Terriers with eight points and pulled down four rebounds
• Mia Henderson added six points and a pair of steals
• Paige Lafrenaye chipped in with five points and two rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory Saint Joseph's improves to 61-4 all-time versus Thomas College and has now defeated the Terriers in 13-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.

NEXT!

The Monks play their last game of the 2022 calendar year on Saturday when they travel to Lasell University for a 2:00 PM Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup.

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