STANDISH, Maine - #1N Saint Joseph's College (21-5) toppled #4S Johnson & Wales University (10-16), 80-51, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the conference semifinal round for the seventh straight season and will host #3N Rivier University (14-12) in a GNAC second-round matchup on Thursday at 5:30 PM. The Raiders upset #2S Regis College, 78-58, in other quarterfinal action this evening.

For Johnson & Wales, the loss brings an end to the 2022-23 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks trailed for most of the first quarter but rallied with an 11-0 run in the last four minutes of the opening frame and held a 26-17 lead going into the second stanza after freshman guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) closed the surge with a pair of free throws.

Saint Joseph's continued to roll in the second quarter and led by a 42-27 score after junior guard Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) capped an 11-2 run with two freebies and 4:49 before the break.

St. Joe's proceeded to lead by at least 14 points for the remainder of the contest and claimed a game-high 29-point lead when freshman Anelise Maccoux (Mukwonago, Wisc.) made a layup with 25 seconds left to account for the 80-51 final.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks shot 91.3% (21-23) from the free throw line and held the lead in points off turnovers (15-4), points in the paint (40-24), and bench points (21-4) in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) was 11-for-11 from the FT line with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals
• Junior guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) tallied 15 points, seven boards, and six assists
• Stapelfeld netted 11 points with a pair of rebounds
• Junior guard Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) came off the bench to score 10 points
• Freshman guard Logan Brown (Brunswick, Maine) chipped in with nine points and two rebounds
• Hurley contributed six points, nine rebounds, four steals, and a pair of assists

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Junior center Peyton Oliver (Ramsey, N.J.) led the Wildcats with 16 points and seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots
• Junior guard Sarah Wisniewski (Naugatuck, Conn.) scored 10 points with four boards
• Freshman center Mikayla Caruso (Newton, N.J.) added nine points, four caroms, and two assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 17-6 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University and has now defeated the Wildcats in 11-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2015-16 campaign.

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