BRUNSWICK, ME - Saint Joseph's (6-4) defeated Salve Regina (4-5), 74-58, in the opening round of the Coastal Maine Classic, hosted by Bowdoin College, on Saturday evening. Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) scored a game-high 18 points and Allie Parent '12 (Camden, ME) netted her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 caroms in the triumph.

Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) and Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) both scored 12 points to round out a quartet of Monks in double digits and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) chipped in with 6 points and 6 assists for St. Joe's. Daigle added 8 caroms and an 8-10 effort from the line to her stat line in the Monks' first-ever game against the Seahawks.  

Kaitlin Niedmann '13 (Harwinton, CT) paced Salve Regina with 15 points, while Meghan Averill '11 (Newfields, NH) and Victoria Audet '11 (Broad Brook, CT) both added 9 points in the losing effort.

The lead swapped hands five times in the early going, but the Monks took control for good after Freeman drained a three-pointer at the 13:56 mark of the first half, making the score 10-8 at the time.

Minutes later, St. Joe's saw the lead swell to 11 points with the help of a 9-0 run. Parent started the string with a traditional three-point play and Allison Miner '10 (Pembroke, NH) closed the surge with a layup at the 7:31 mark to put the Royal Blue up 24-13.

The Seahawks cut the SJC advantage to six points on a pair of occasions in the final six minutes of the opening stanza, but St. Joe's headed into the intermission with a 10 point lead, 32-22, after Daigle hit a pair of freebies to cap the half scoring.

The Monks held a double-digit lead for the vast majority of the second half and held a game-high 20 point advantage after Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) dropped a three-pointer with 11:28 remaining.

St. Joe's shot 48% (24-50) from the field, 37.5% (3-8) from three-point range, and 71.9% (23-32) from the FT line while Salve Regina shot 29.7% (19-64) overall, 33.3% (7-21) from beyond the arc and 68.4% (13-19) from the charity stripe. The Monks held a slim 41-38 edge on the boards in the win.

Saint Joseph's will take on Skidmore College (6-1) at 2:00 PM on Sunday, while Salve Regina is set to face off against nationally-ranked Bowdoin College at 4:00 PM tomorrow.

Newspaper Box Score
Salve Regina vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
1/2/10 8:00 p.m. at Brunswick, Maine
At Brunswick, Maine
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 74, SALVE REGINA 58
SALVE REGINA (4-5)
Kaitlin Niedmann 5-10 3-4 15; Victoria Audet 3-11 2-5 9; Meghan Averill 2-9
4-4 9; Allison Pigoga 2-5 3-4 7; Kira Murphy 2-11 1-2 6; Kaitlyn Birrell
3-13 0-0 6; Jessie Barowski 2-3 0-0 6; Sarah Averill 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-64
13-19 58.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (6-4)
Meghan Daigle 5-7 8-10 18; Allie Parent 3-6 7-9 13; Carolyn Freeman 4-10 2-4
12; Ashley Geel 6-11 0-0 12; Casey Drake 2-5 2-3 6; Danyelle Shufelt 1-2 3-4
5; Megan McDevitt 1-5 1-2 4; Allison Miner 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-50 23-32 74.
Salve Regina..................   22   36  -   58
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   32   42  -   74
3-point goals--Salve Regina 7-21 (Jessie Barowski 2-2; Kaitlin Niedmann 2-4;
Victoria Audet 1-1; Meghan Averill 1-5; Kira Murphy 1-5; Sarah Averill 0-1;
Kaitlyn Birrell 0-3), St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-8 (Carolyn Freeman 2-3; Megan
McDevitt 1-4; Danyelle Shufelt 0-1). Fouled out--Salve Regina-Victoria
Audet, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. Rebounds--Salve Regina 39 (Allison Pigoga
7), St. Joseph's (Me.) 41 (Allie Parent 10). Assists--Salve Regina 9
(Kaitlyn Birrell 5), St. Joseph's (Me.) 16 (Casey Drake 6). Total
fouls--Salve Regina 21, St. Joseph's (Me.) 16. Technical fouls--Salve
Regina-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-TEAM 2. A-71
Coastal Maine Classic