BOSTON, MA - Emerson College (13-11, 8-3 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (12-12, 7-5 GNAC), 70-61, in a GNAC Women's Basketball contest on Thursday night. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) scored 16 points and Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) grabbed a career and game high 15 boards with 10 points in the losing effort.

Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) added 11 points, Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) netted 9 and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) chipped in with 8 for Saint Joseph's.

Lauren Zaniboni scored a game-high 19 points and corralled 14 caroms with 4 blocks for the Lions and teammate Olivia DiNucci poured in 17, as the due combined for a 13-13 effort from the charity stripe for the victors. Theresa McCabe chipped in with 14 points for Emerson and was 4-6 from three-point distance in the win.

The Monks led for most of the first half and trailed by just three points, 38-35, at halftime. But St. Joe's shot just 26.9% from the floor in the second stanza, including an 0-5 performance from beyond the arc, as Emerson pulled away with the help of a 15-20 effort from the free-throw line.

The Lions held a 17-11 advantage after Zaniboi converted a traditional three-point play 5:46 into the game, but the Monks roared back, as treys from Freeman and McDevitt helped the Royal Blue put up a 12-0 run, which was capped by a Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) bucket and propelled the visitors to a 23-17 lead at the 8:52 mark.

Emerson followed suit with a 10-4 surge over the next three minutes to knot the game at 27-apiece. Shufelt connected on a jumper with 5:11 left in the first to help the Monks regain the lead, which stood until the Lions scored five unanswered points in the final minute of the opening stanza to take a 38-35 cushion into the locker room.

Zaniboni led all players with 11 points and 10 boards in the first half, while Freeman poured in 8 points and was 2-3 from downtown in the opening period. The Lions' shooters were ablaze in the first stanza, with a 54.2% effort from the field and 54.5% and 75% performances from three-point distance and the FT line, respectively. The Monks also shot well and countered with a 43.3% mark from the field, a 60% effort from beyond the arc and a 75% performance from the line.

The second half didn't start off well for Saint Joseph's, as Emerson increased the SJC deficit to eight points, 45-37, in the first 2:22 of play with the assistance of threes from McCabe and DiNucci. A layup by Zaniboni gave the hosts their first 10-point lead, 55-45, with 12:19 to play.

The Monks managed to keep pace, however, and utilized a 6-2 burst to cut the Lions' lead to 59-55 with 7:49 remaining. Geel tallied four of the six points for the Royal Blue.

Daigle came to the line at the 1:50 mark and proceeded to drain a pair of freebies to make it a five-point game, 64-59, but St. Joe's shot 1-6 from the floor and Emerson was 6-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch en route to collecting a 70-61 win.

St. Joe's shot 35.7% (20-56) from the field, 30% (3-10) from three-point range, and 72% (18-25) from the FT line, while Emerson shot 45.5% (20-44) overall, 47.4% (9-19) from beyond the arc and 75% (21-28) from the charity stripe. The Lions held a 36-32 advantage on the boards and the Monks forced 20 Emerson turnovers in the loss.

The Lions' victory sets up a first place showdown with Norwich University on Saturday in Northfield, Vt.  Should Emerson defeat Norwich, the Lions would capture first place in the conference with a 9-3 record.  If Emmanuel College defeats Johnson & Wales University, Emmanuel, Norwich, and Emerson would all have 9-3 records, but the Lions would win the head-to-head tie-breaker over both schools.

The loss by Saint Joseph's drops the Monks into a tie for eighth place in the Conference, but the Monks would lose the tie-breaker to Rivier College.  Other potential win/loss combinations by teams with 7-4 records could allow the Royal Blue to gain entrance into the playoffs.

While Emerson heads to Norwich for a 3:00 PM start Saturday, St. Joe's has completed its season as their scheduled game on Saturday with Mount Ida College has been declared a conference-forfeit. Saint Joseph's will honor its three seniors with a ceremony prior to the men's game against Mount Ida on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Emerson College
02/18/10 7:30pm at Brown & Plofker Gym, Boston, Mass.
At Brown & Plofker Gym, Boston, Mass.
EMERSON COLLEGE 70, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 61
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (12-12, 7-5 GNAC)
Ashley Geel 8-20 0-0 16; Carolyn Freeman 3-8 3-7 11; Meghan Daigle 1-5 8-8
10; Megan McDevitt 4-11 0-0 9; Casey Drake 1-2 6-8 8; Danyelle Shufelt 2-3
1-2 5; Melanie Cloutier 1-4 0-0 2; Amelia Lamb 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 18-25
61.
EMERSON COLLEGE (13-11, 8-3 GNAC)
Lauren Zaniboni 6-11 7-7 19; Olivia DiNucci 4-7 6-6 17; Theresa McCabe 4-7
2-2 14; Kathy Andrade 2-7 3-6 7; Andrea Kosek 2-6 0-1 6; Jackie Williams 1-4
3-6 5; Kate Farino 1-1 0-0 2; Laura Chenier 0-0 0-0 0; Amy Sherman 0-1 0-0
0. Totals 20-44 21-28 70.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   35   26  -   61
Emerson College...............   38   32  -   70
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-10 (Carolyn Freeman 2-4; Megan McDevitt
1-4; Danyelle Shufelt 0-1; Melanie Cloutier 0-1), Emerson College 9-19
(Theresa McCabe 4-6; Olivia DiNucci 3-6; Andrea Kosek 2-4; Amy Sherman 0-1;
Jackie Williams 0-1; Lauren Zaniboni 0-1). Fouled out--St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None, Emerson College-None. Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 32 (Meghan
Daigle 15), Emerson College 36 (Lauren Zaniboni 14). Assists--St. Joseph's
(Me.) 14 (Meghan Daigle 4), Emerson College 10 (Jackie Williams 5). Total
fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 21, Emerson College 17. Technical fouls--St.
Joseph's (Me.)-None, Emerson College-None. A-138
Great Northeast Athletic Conference game
Rescheduled from 2/16/10 due to snow