AMCATS Fall to Monks in GNAC Battle

Standish, Maine – The Anna Maria College women's basketball team dropped to the Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine on the road on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action (GNAC), 82-57. The AMCATS fall to 3-15 on the season and 1-10 in the conference while the Monks improve to 17-3 overall and remain undefeated in the GNAC, 11-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.) led the AMCATS in scoring with 11 points to go along with three rebounds. Senior Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) recorded 10 points and three rebounds while forward, Emily Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) came off the bench with nine points and three rebounds.

Monk's Emily Benway scored a game high 21 points in the victory. Sophomore, guard Julie Champagne followed Benway's lead with 16 points and five rebounds. Kelsi McNamara and Brianne Maloney rounded out double digit scoring for the monks with 10 points each. Forward, Regan McFerran led all rebounders with a game high nine boards.

Saint Joseph's went 28-of-66 from the floor for a 42.4 shooting percentage while the AMCATS shot 32.8% from the field. The AMCATS notched eight of their 25 three-point attempts and the Monks recorded ten three-pointers. Anna Maria outshot the Monks at the free-throw line with an impressive 73.3 %, making 11 of their 15 free-throws. Saint Joseph's recorded a 61.5 shooting percentage from the line tallying 16 of their 25 free-throw attempts.

The Monks outrebounded the AMCATS 46 to 34 and caused 19 AMCAT turnover to record 25 points off of those possessions. Anna Maria forced the Monks to turn the ball over 14 times and managed to turn them into 13 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Monks went on an early 3-0 run to claim a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Three layups by senior Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.) and a lay-up by Gauvin kept the AMCATS within reach over the next three minutes of play before a three-pointer from Champagne put the Monks up 14-8 with 2:25 to play in the first quarter. Back to back Anna Maria three-pointers by Capstick and Mareiro tied the game at 14 apiece to end the first quarter in a tie game.

The AMCATS gained their first lead of the game with a layup made by Shannon Hofmiller (Oxford, Conn.) just two minutes into the second, 16-15. The Monks responded with a layup from Benway, but the AMCATS quickly regained their lead with a three-pointer from Capstick to go ahead, 19-17. The Monks went on a 5-0 run to claim a 19-26 lead with 3:42 to go in the first and forced the AMCATS to call a 30-second timeout. Freshman, Leah Wright drained a three-pointer and knocked down a layup to bring the AMCATS back within two, 26-24, with under three minutes to play. Two three-pointers by Champagne and two layups by Maloney gave the Monks the 36-28 lead entering the half-time break.

The AMCATS came out of the break hot, with a quick layup by Hofmiller, a forced Monk's turnover and a three-pointer by Mareiro they were back within three points, 36-33. Saint Joseph's responded with a 4-0 run, with five points by Benway to take a 42-33 lead with 7:34 to play in the third quarter. Gauvin knocked down a three-pointer and the AMCATS tallied five points at the free-throw line in the remaining seven minutes of play and the Monks took a 59-41 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Monks outscored the AMCATS 23-16 in the final quarter as Benway leaded the way with eight points. Mareiro and Capstick both notched three-pointers while freshman Hailey Moore (Worcester, Mass.) went 3-for-3 at the free throw line for the AMCATS in the last quarter. The Monks took the final 82-57 victory.

WHAT'S NEXT?

 Anna Maria hosts Fisher College on Tuesday, January 31 for a non-conference match-up starting at 7:00 p.m. The Monks travel to Suffolk on Saturday, February 4^th for a 1:00 p.m. GNAC contest.