Purchase, NY - The SJC women's basketball team faced two strong teams and gained valuable experience at the Castle Classic hosted by Manhattanville College this weekend.

On Saturday, St. Joe's squared off against Manhattanville College who was fresh off an upset win over defending Skyline Conference champion Mount Saint Mary. The Valiants' athleticism and physical play gave them an edge as they held a 38-19 lead at the half.

The Monks staged a fierce comeback in the second half after falling behind by 26 points. Junior tri-captain Megan Farrell (Abington, MA) sparked the rally with a basket and a free throw at 15:30. Sophomore Aly Ludwig (Waldoboro, ME) also scored as St. Joe's cut the lead to 12 with a 13-2 run.

The Valiants responded with 3 quick baskets, but jumpers by Farrell, Ludwig and FY Carolyn Freeman (Scarborough, ME) kept the Monks close. St. Joe's cut the lead to 10 after a three-pointer by Freeman and a shot by FY Katey Kamal (Keene, NH), but Manhattanville held on for a 59-48 win.

The Monks were led by Farrell (13 points, 6 rebounds), Freeman (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Ludwig (7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists).

St. Joe's fell to Lehman College, 70-56, in the consolation game on Sunday. Four SJC turnovers in the first three minutes gave Lehman and early advantage, but lay-ups by Farrell, and junior tri-captain Marie Lint (Orono, ME) made it 6-8 at 16:30.

A three-pointer by Freeman gave the Monks a brief one point lead, but the Lightning took advantage of six St. Joe's turnovers to go up 14-9 and kept the pressure on stretching the lead to 30-16 with six minutes to go in the half.

Sophomore Sasha Bowen (Boston, MA) converted a three-point play to key an SJC comeback at 5:55. The Monks stayed close with free throws by Lint, a lay-up by junior captain Ashton Coutu (Danville, VT) and cut the lead to 5 on a three-pointer by Freeman at 1:40. Ludwig added a free throw but Lehman went into the break up 35-28 after a deep three-pointer by Sally Nnamani.

The Monks continued to struggle with Lehman's pressure and fell behind by 18 points midway through the half. Fourteen second-half points by FY Allison Miner (Pembroke, NH) helped cut the lead but St. Joe's would get no closer than 8 points as Lehman closed out a 70-56 victory.

Two SJC players joined Miner with double digit scoring; junior Marie Lint (13 points, 7 rebounds) and sophomore Sasha Bowen (11 points, 8 rebounds).

The Lady Monks are off now for the semester break, but return to action on a west coast trip on Saturday, January 6th vs. Fisher College of Boston at UC Santa Cruz.