STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball team improved to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play with a 74-41 victory over Pine Manor College (0-16, 0-8 GNAC) at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening. Monks' forward Meghan Daigle '10 (Grantham, NH) notched game-highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.

Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, ME) added 15 points and grabbed 9 caroms for St. Joe's, while Carolyn Freeman '10 (Scarborough, ME/McAuley) and Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) both registered 8 points. Ashley Geel '12 (St. George, ME) corralled 13 caroms and Casey Drake '11 (Lebanon, NH) chipped in with 7 points, 5 assists and 3 steals for the Monks, who have now won three straight GNAC contests.

Enjolee Phillips '11 (Hartford, CT) paced the Gators with 14 points and teammate Tia Nelson '13 (Rockport, MA) added 11 in the loss. Paulette Wright '12 (Baltimore, MD) contributed 8 points and 8 boards for Pine Manor.

Saint Joseph's was in command for the duration and led 10-2 after Daigle made a layup 4:23 into the first half. At the 6:51 mark, Freeman made a bucket to ignite a 12-3 run that spanned nearly six minutes of play. Melanie Cloutier '13 (Paris, ME) closed out the SJC surge with a three-pointer at the 1:05 mark to provide the hosts with a 36-15 lead. Phillips scored five unanswered points for the Gators to cut the Monks' lead to 36-20 heading into the locker room.

Daigle and Phillips both netted 12 points in the opening half to pace their respective teams. Geel grabbed 9 boards in the first to help the Monks post a 32-17 advantage on the glass in the first period.

Pine Manor managed to cut the deficit to 12 points, 49-29, with a Wright jumpshot with 13:48 to play, but three-pointers by Shufelt and McDevitt jumpstarted a 19-5 outburst to put the game completely out of reach for the Gators. Daigle made two of her six freebies with 7:14 remaining mark to put the Monks on top, 60-34.

Saint Joseph's went on to maintain at least a 20-point cushion for the remainder of play and extended the lead to the final tally, 74-41, with a 12-1 surge over the final five minutes.

St. Joe's shot 38.4% (28-73) from the field, 39.1% (9-23) from three-point range, and 75% (9-12) from the line, while Pine Manor shot 24.5% (13-53) overall, 30.8% (4-13) from beyond the arc and 61.1% (11-18) from the charity stripe. The Monks held a sizeable advantage, 56-35, on the glass, including 23 offensive caroms, and recorded 24 assists on 28 field goals.

For the Monks, the rebound, offensive rebound and field goal attempt totals all rank as season-highs.

Both teams will host GNAC counterparts on Saturday, as Saint Joseph's will face-off against Norwich (14-5, 6-1 GNAC), currently the top team in the league, at 1:00 PM, while Pine Manor will take on Emmanuel at 12:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Pine Manor vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
2/3/10 6:00pm at Standish, Maine
At Standish, Maine
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 74, PINE MANOR 41
PINE MANOR ((0-16, 0-8 GNAC))
Enjolee Phillips 6-13 0-0 14; Tia Nelson 3-9 3-4 11; Paulette Wright 2-10
4-6 8; Aponi Washington 1-4 1-4 3; Gina Simpson-Hobbs 0-9 3-4 3; Phibe Pham
1-8 0-0 2. Totals 13-53 11-18 41.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) ((10-10,4-3 GNAC))
Meghan Daigle 7-15 6-8 20; Megan McDevitt 6-14 0-0 15; Carolyn Freeman 3-10
0-0 8; Danyelle Shufelt 3-7 0-0 8; Casey Drake 3-4 0-0 7; Amelia Lamb 2-6
2-2 6; Ashley Geel 2-11 1-2 5; Melanie Cloutier 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 28-73 9-12
74.
Pine Manor....................   20   21  -   41
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   36   38  -   74
3-point goals--Pine Manor 4-13 (Enjolee Phillips 2-2; Tia Nelson 2-6; Gina
Simpson-Hobbs 0-3; Phibe Pham 0-2), St. Joseph's (Me.) 9-23 (Megan McDevitt
3-6; Danyelle Shufelt 2-6; Carolyn Freeman 2-4; Melanie Cloutier 1-5; Casey
Drake 1-2). Fouled out--Pine Manor-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-Ashley Geel.
Rebounds--Pine Manor 35 (Paulette Wright 8), St. Joseph's (Me.) 56 (Meghan
Daigle 14). Assists--Pine Manor 9 (Gina Simpson-Hobbs 2; Phibe Pham 2; Aponi
Washington 2; Enjolee Phillips 2), St. Joseph's (Me.) 24 (Casey Drake 5;
Carolyn Freeman 5). Total fouls--Pine Manor 11, St. Joseph's (Me.) 13.
Technical fouls--Pine Manor-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-116