Women’s Hoops Falls to Visiting Monks

Newton, MA--  St. Joseph's College of Maine prevailed over Lasell College, 67-39, on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest.

The Monks held the Lasers scoreless for the first six minutes of the contest, going on a 7-0 surge early in the half.  Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, ME) started things off with a distance shot, good for three points for St. Joseph's, and Meghan Daigle (Grantham, NH) contributed the subsequent four points during the Monks initial run.

Tricia Culver (Northampton, MA) broke the Lasers scoreless stretch with a jumper at the free throw line.  Lasell's Reegan Brackett (Scarborough, ME) followed that up by taking advantage of a Monk turnover and driving to the hoop for two more points.  A Casey Drake (Lebanon, NH) bucket returned St. Joseph's edge to five point, 9-4, but a fast break by Brittany Jefferies (Medford, MA) gave Lasell just a three point disadvantage at the ten minute mark.

For the next two minutes, Lasell kept the Monks at bay, trading hoops to stay within three points of the visitors.  With 7:49 on the clock, St. Joseph's went on a 13-0 surge, leaving the Lasers behind 24-8.  Lasell struggled to connect with the hoop, shooting just 16% in the half, and would score just three more points before intermission, with Brackett shooting 3-for-4 from the line. The Monks would secure a 16 point lead heading into the locker rooms, 27-11.

Ashley Geel (St. George, ME) made the opening basket of the second half for the Monks, but Lasell's Katie Farr (Rindge, NH) answered with a three-point field goal in the  play immediately following.  The Lasers shooting was much more on target in the second half, producing on 32% of their shots, but the damage had already been done.  Three and a half minutes in the second half, the Monks were ahead by 22 points as Carolyn Freeman (Scarborough, ME) was fouled behind the arc and she knocked down all three free throw chances.

With 10:14 on the clock, the Monks had produced a thirty point lead, 54-24, after another 8-0 streak over a span of four minutes.  Lasell fought hard to pull the game back within reach in the final five minutes, receiving six points each by Farr and Culver, however the closest they would get would be a 24 point deficit, 60-36, with 2:44 left to play.  The Monks would extend their lead to 67-39 when the time expired at the conclusion of the contest.

The Monks shot 49.0% over the course of the contest, including 38.5% from downtown and 75.0% from the line.  St. Joseph's also out-rebounded the Lasers by a significant total margin of 43-32.  Lasell hit only 25.0% of their total shots in the game, and less than 15% from deep.

Culver was the Lasers' high-scorer, with ten total points, while also adding four rebounds. Kim Archibald (Lewiston, ME) notched seven points and collected eight boards.  Additionally for Lasell, Farr scored nine points and Brackett tallied eight.

St. Joseph's had three athletes tally double-figures.  The Monks were led by Daigle who put up a game-high 16 points in the contest, adding 12 rebounds for a double-double performance.  Freeman added 13 points and seven boards and McDevitt recorded 12 points and five grabs off the glass for the visitors.

Lasell's next contest will be hosted by Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday, February 16th at 7:00 p.m.