GNAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

WINTHROP, Mass. – No. 1 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) and No. 2 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) picked up wins on Thursday (Feb. 22) night to punch their tickets into the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. The Monks will host the title contest on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m.

Both semifinals on Thursday were tightly contested as the top-seeded Monks overtook No. 4 seed Emmanuel, 70-64, and the Blue Jays defeated No. 3 seed Albertus Magnus, 76-66.

The Monks are making their eighth straight appearance in the GNAC title game and are looking to retain the conference crown after winning the championship a year ago. Meanwhile, USJ will be competing for the league championship for the first time since 1998 when it finished the year as GNAC Champions.

The teams met one time in the regular season with SJC having the advantage with a 64-53 win on their home court back in December.

On Saturday, the two teams will be competing for the title of 2024 GNAC Women's Basketball Champion. The GNAC Champion earns the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.

#1 Saint Joseph's (Maine) 70, #4 Emmanuel 64

Recap courtesy of the Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications Department.

STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (20-7) topped No. 4 seed Emmanuel College (15-12), 70-64, in a hotly-contested Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball tournament semifinal on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's seemed to have the game in hand late in the second quarter as a Grace Ramsdell layup gave the hosts a 17-point (36-19) cushion with 3:46 before the break. Emmanuel fought back into the fray however, as the Saints closed out the half with a 12-1 surge to cut their deficit to 37-31 heading into intermission.

The better part of the third quarter was a two-possession scenario before the Saints managed to tie the game at 46-46 in the waning seconds of the penultimate period. Trailing 44-37 with five minutes left in the third, Emmanuel mounted a 9-2 surge, capped by an Olivia Matela three-pointer, to tie the game at 46 going into the final frame.

Emmanuel proceeded to take their first lead of the night when Matela gave her team a 49-48 edge with another trifecta 1:17 into the fourth. The GNAC rivals played through four tie scores and five lead changes in the following eight minutes before senior guard Hailey Anderson made the biggest shot of her career thus far - a three-pointer from the top of the key – to put her team on top, 67-64, with 29 seconds remaining.

During the rest of the contest, Saint Joseph's went 3-for-4 from the free throw line while Emmanuel committed a pair of costly turnovers and was unable to close the gap as a result.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks produced one of their finest three-point shooting performances of the season by making 13-of-25 attempts from downtown for a season-high 52.0 percent clip. The Saints attempted only seven shots from beyond the arc with four made for a 57.1 percent effort. St. Joe's scored 26 points off 17 Emmanuel turnovers.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

·       Ramsdell scored 20 points with six rebounds and was 3-for-5 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line

·       Senior Angelica Hurley tallied 15 points and nine rebounds

·       Sophomore Elisabeth Stapelfeld added 11 points and four boards

·       Anderson came off the bench to score 10 points – including eight of the Monks' final 10 points - with three assists in 17 minutes

·       Sophomore Madison Lebel scored seven points while playing solid defense throughout the game

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

·       Matela paced the Saints with 12 points and added three steals

·       Freshman Meagan Schuermann came off the bench to contributed 11 points, three boards, three assists, and a pair of steals

·       Senior Kiera Eubanks added 10 points and five rebounds with a pair of blocks

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-22 all-time versus Emmanuel College and has now defeated the Saints in three-consecutive meetings, including a 74-67 win in the 2023 GNAC Championship game on Mike McDevitt Court.

#2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 76, #3 Albertus Magnus 66

Recap courtesy of the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Athletic Communications Department.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Despite a trio of Falcons with double-figures, the No. 3 Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team fell to in-state rival No. 2 University of Saint Joseph's, 76-66, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals on Thursday inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium. Albertus finished its season with an overall record of 20-7 and 11-7 in the GNAC, while USJ continued its postseason run at 24-3 and 13-1.

Caitlyn Scott led all scorers with 23 points, while classmate Natasha Rivera tied for a season-high four blocks. Jakara Murray-Leach totaled 19 points, while Diamond White posted 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rivera opened the scoring for either side with a smooth layup off a side pass from White less than 30 seconds into the opening quarter. The senior played aggressive defense in back-to-back plays with a block and a pair of defensive boards, but the Blue Jays halted both plays with steals but neither team could capitalize on the turnovers.
• Down by one, White forced a steal to set up a fastbreak layup by Scott followed by an explosive block and defensive rebound by Murray-Leach for another Scott-driving layup to put the Falcons up by one.
• Jordan Ouellette matched baskets for USJ to put the hosts up, 7-6, before Murray-Leach's layup off the pass from Scott pushed Albertus up by one to regain the lead. The Falcons stood tall on defense to force USJ to use the entire shot clock and denied any good looks for four scoreless minutes to keep the Falcons within one, 9-8.
• Maya Slisz netted a jump shot in the paint to put the Blue Jays up, 19-14, after the opening quarter.
• Three straight buckets from deep by Rivera, Amanda Zdru and White narrowed the margin to within one with 7:56 remaining in the half.
• With a three-point deficit, Scott went to the line for Albertus Magnus followed by a layup by the senior off an offensive board from Murray-Leach to even the score, 28-28. Scott drew an and one off the layup to regain the one-point lead.
• Slisz connected for a three-pointer before White's layup knotted the score at 31 apiece before Murray's steal and fastbreak layup put Albertus up 33-31. Amanda Judge closed out the half with a jumper to keep the home team up, 37-34.
• USJ came out the locker room hot with 10 unanswered points before Murray-Leach's free throw halted the scoring run and kept Albertus within 10 points. Murray-Leach racked up the next points on the hardwood off an offensive rebound and layup.
• A 13-8 Albertus run narrowed the deficit to within four points, ignited by a three-pointer by Murray-Leach and capped off by back-to-back threes by Scott and White. USJ recorded six free throws to hold onto the lead, 76-66, until the final buzzer.

 NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus led with points in the paint in the first two quarters with 10 and eight, respectively, but only had three second-chance points in the second quarter.
• White posted a dozen points for a career total 996 and a season-high 408 points.
• The Blue Jays hold the all-time record 31-10, including a regular season road win earlier in the month.

2024 GNAC Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule

Play-In – Monday, Feb. 19
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#7 Regis def. #10 Colby-Sawyer, 60-32 | BOX
#8 Rivier def. #9 Johnson & Wales, 82-73 | BOX

Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 20
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#1 Saint Joseph's (Maine) def. #8 Rivier, 74-64 | BOX
#2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) def. #7 Regis, 80-68 | BOX
#3 Albertus Magnus def. #6 New England College, 86-67 | BOX
#4 Emmanuel def. #5 Lasell, 87-62 | BOX

Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 22
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#1 Saint Joseph's (Maine) def. #4 Emmanuel, 70-64 | BOX
#2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) def. #3 Albertus Magnus, 76-66 | BOX

Championship – Saturday, Feb. 24

#2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #1 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 1 p.m.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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