Women's Basketball suffers first GNAC loss at Saint Joseph's

(Standish, Maine) The Rivier University Women's Basketball team lost their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference game of the season this afternoon as they fell to Saint Joseph's College, 69-63 at the Harold Alfond Center.

In a game that featured two very different halves, the Monks (16-5, 6-1 GNAC) seemed to take control early and utilized a 15-2 run to gain a 24-10 lead midway through the opening frame. Saint Joseph's carried a daunting 48-22 advantage into intermission and led by 30 points (54-24) after sophomore Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) converted a layup 2:46 into the second stanza.

But the Monks' offense hit the wall for the remainder of the latter half, as the Royal Blue mustered just four field goals over the last 17 minutes of play and failed to convert a bucket in the closing 10 minutes of the conference contest.

In the meantime, the Raiders (17-4, 7-1 GNAC) took advantage of the hosts' inability to score and mounted several impressive offensive runs to cut their deficit down to single digits. SJC freshman Danica Gleason (South Portland, Maine) nailed a three-pointer at the 10:21 mark to lift the Monks to a 66-44 lead, but the field goal turned out to be the hosts' final basket of the game. Rivier proceeded to score 19 unanswered points over the following nine minutes, as a three-pointer from A.J. Guidi (Derry, N.H.) capped the surge and made it a three-point (66-63) game with 1:20 remaining.

Forced to foul with time winding down, Rivier senior guard Ryan Baker (Whitinsville, Mass.) hacked Saint Joseph's junior Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine), who made one of two shots from the FT line to extend the SJC cushion to 67-63 with 51 seconds left. After a missed three-pointer, the Raiders fouled Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine) on the hosts' next trip down the court and the senior guard all but sealed the victory by making both attempts from the charity stripe with 19 seconds to play.

For Rivier, freshman Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) netted 18 with seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of rejections, junior guard Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) registered 13 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals, Baker added nine points, five assists and four caroms, and Guidi chipped in with seven points and six rebounds in a losing effort.

For Saint Joseph's, senior forward Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Maine) produced 14 points and seven rebounds, senior guard Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) added 11 points, five assists and three caroms and Gleason was 3-6 from downtown with nine points in the victory. Assante added four steals while Skyler Makkinje (Hillsboro, N.H.) and Abbie Eastman (Perkinsville, Vt.) contributed five points and two rebounds apiece on the afternoon. Cahill finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday when the Monks play at Simmons College in a conference contest slated to start at 7:00 PM and the Raiders take on Trinity College in a non-league tilt set to begin at 5:30 PM.