SAINTS AND MONKS SET FOR GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE

STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (22-5, 10-1 GNAC) will host #3 Emmanuel College (21-6, 10-1 GNAC) in the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Championship at the Harold Alfond Center this afternoon (Saturday 2/27) at 2:00 PM.

Coverage

The game can be watched live on our free high-definition online channel, www.gomonks.tv, and can also be followed via live stats as well as the Saint Joseph's Athletics Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snap Chat feeds.

How they got here

Saint Joseph's, Emmanuel finished the year in a three-way tie atop the GNAC standings, but the Monks defeated the Wildcats during the season and posted a higher overall winning percentage than the Saints to emerge as the #1 seed.

As the top seed, Saint Joseph's topped #8 Rivier University, 72-62, in a GNAC quarterfinal on Tuesday and defeated #4 Suffolk University, 74-58, in semifinal action on Thursday to advance to Saturday's championship tilt.

Emmanuel opened tourney play with a 73-63 win over #6 Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday and upset #2 Johnson & Wales, the reigning GNAC Champion, 71-61, in Providence on Thursday.

GNAC/NCAA Tournament History

The Monks have appeared in the GNAC Tournament in eight of nine seasons as a member of the conference and claimed the program's first GNAC Championship in 2014, when the Royal Blue defeated Norwich University, 63-47, in the title game at the Alfond Center on March 1st, 2014. Saturday's game marks the Monks' third GNAC Championship appearance in the last five seasons – St. Joe's fell at Emmanuel, 71-52, in the 2012 title bout. The Monks, now 8-0 in GNAC postseason home games, looks to return the favor on Saturday.

The Monks made their first NCAA tourney appearance on March 7th, 2014 versus Tufts University, ranked fourth nationally at the time, and suffered a 66-43 setback at the hands of the Jumbos – a team that advanced all the way to the Final Four that season.

Saint Joseph's, which joined the GNAC prior to the start of the 2007-08 academic year and played as an NCAA DIII Independent program for three years prior, won 12 conference championships as an NAIA member with eight appearances in the NAIA National Tournament between the years of 1979 and 2001.

The Saints are perennial GNAC favorites for good reason, as 39th-year Head Coach Andy Yosinoff has led Emmanuel to 15 GNAC Championships, 18 NCAA Tournament berths – including advancements to three Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four – and nine ECAC Tournament appearances. The Saints, who have played in every GNAC Tournament since the league's inception in 1995, won seven consecutive conference crowns (2007-13) but have not claimed the title since 2013, as Saint Joseph's and Johnson & Wales captured the championship in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Emmanuel owns and incredible 52-5 (.912) GNAC Tournament record and has advanced past the first round in 20 of 21 seasons – the only hiccup coming in 2014, when #8 Norwich upset the top-seeded Saints, 84-78 in overtime.

What happens next?

Saturday's victor earns an automatic qualifier into the 2016 NCAA DIII National Tournament, which begins on March 4th. The complete bracket will be announced on a live selection show, available for viewing on NCAA.com at 2:30 PM, on Monday.

What have you done lately?

Including Thursday's GNAC semifinal victory over Suffolk, the Monks have won five consecutive games and eight of their last nine overall. Saint Joseph's is averaging 76.1 points while allowing 59.7 PPG and shooting 42.9% from the field, 35.5% from downtown, and 67.2% from the free throw line over the last nine contests.

The Saints enter the 2016 GNAC Championship having won seven straight with the team's last loss coming at the hands of Johnson & Wales, 54-44, at home on January 28th. During the seven-game streak, Emmanuel has averaged 77.3 points while yielding 57.4 PPG and shooting 44.4% from the floor, 24.8% from beyond the arc, and 69.4% from the charity stripe.

Who to watch – Saint Joseph's:

Senior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine)

• Cahill averages 15.3 PPG and 8.2 RPG and leads the Monks in scoring, rebounding, field goals made (169), field goal percentage (48%), free throws made (75), and blocked shots (61)
• She ranks as the GNAC leader in blocks, is second in field goals made, third in field goal percentage, and fifth in points (423) this season
• The two-year team captain has earned 59 accolades during her career - including three Second Team All-GNAC honors and three All-State honors as well as the GNAC and Maine Rookie of the Year awards following her freshman season (2013)
• Cahill ranks among the Monks' all-time leaders in a number of statistical categories, including blocked shots (219, 1st), points (1,624, 3rd), field goals made (649, 4th), free throws made (4th), rebounds (859, 5th), scoring average (15.0, 7th), and rebounds average (8.0, 7th)

Freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.)

• McNamara ranks second on the team with 13.9 PPG and paces the Royal Blue in three-pointers made (60), three-point success (40.3%), free throw percentage (80.2%), assists (110), and steals (46)
• The freshman guard leads the conference in three-point success rate and ranks third in both three-pointers made and assists and is currently sixth in the GNAC in steals
• McNamara has garnered 17 total honors so far this season, including seven GNAC Rookie of the Week nods and five Maine top rookie awards and was selected as the November 30th ECAC DIII New England Rookie of the Week

Freshman forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.)

• Benway has played very well of late and averages 7.5 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 48% from the field
• She is tied with Cahill for the team lead in FG% and ranks second in rebounding and third in field goals made (82)
• The first-year forward was recently showered with Rookie of the Week honors from the ECAC, GNAC and Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association (MWBCA)

Who to watch – Emmanuel:

Senior guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.)

• Higgins leads the Saints in scoring (14.6 PPG), field goals made (146), free throws made (72), and steals (96) and ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.7 RPG) and assists average (2.9 APG)
• She ranks as the conference leader (and 13th in the nation) in steals and is also sixth in points (393) and field goals made and seventh in FT% (76.6%)
• Higgins also leads the GNAC in scoring per 40 minutes in conference play, averaging 27.5 points over 11 games
• Enters Saturday's game with the following career totals: 1,078 points, 496 rebounds, 240 assists, and 214 steals
• Has twice been named as the GNAC Player of the Week this season and garnered First Team All-GNAC honors as a junior after being listed on the Third Team following her sophomore season

GR forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.)

• Negri, who missed all of last season with an injury, leads the Saints in rebounding (8.0 RPG) and ranks second on the team in scoring (12.0 PPG), field goal percentage (46.8%), and steals
• The 2014 First Team All-GNAC honoree became the 23rd 1,000-point scorer in Emmanuel history after netting 22 points against Johnson & Wales on Thursday
• Negri has tallied 1,002 points, 664 rebounds, 130 assists, 131 steals, and 41 blocks during her collegiate career

Junior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.)

• One of three to start all 27 of the Saints' games this season, Chalk averages 8.6 PPG and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 43.2% overall and 73.5% from the FT line
• The junior forward has scored 10 or more points in 11 different games this winter
• Chalk ranks second on the team in FT% and is third in scoring and field goals made

Recipe for success – Saint Joseph's:

St. Joe's currently leads the conference free-throw percentage (70%), second in three-point success (31.8%), and third in scoring (69.4), field goal percentage (39.1%), free throws made per game (14.5), assists per game (16.2), fewest turnovers per game (15.7), steals per game (9.4), and scoring defense (57.6). The Monks are 12-1 at home this year, with the only setback in Standish coming at the hands of nationally ranked University of New England on January 25th.

The Monks' depth has proven to be a major factor this season as the SJC bench contributes 24.4 points per game on average. Also of note – Saint Joseph's is 17-0 when pulling down 40 or more rebounds and 21-2 when scoring at least 60 points.

Recipe for success – Emmanuel:

The Saints pace the conference in field goals made per game (27.7), FG% (41.2%), assists per game (16.9), and steals per game (13.0) and rank second in scoring (71.6 PPG), scoring defense (55.0), and opponents' 3FG% (25.1%). Seemingly unfazed by playing on the road with a 9-3 mark in away games, two of the Saints' road setbacks came at the hands of nationally ranked teams in #4 Amherst College (59-48) and #9 Tufts University (57-41).

Emmanuel, known to employ a suffocating full-court press, averages 21.6 points off turnovers per game, largely a result of the press and the team's leading steals per game average. The Saints also feature great depth as 10 different players average 11 or more minutes of playing time – with none more than 26.1 per contest – en route to netting 28.7 bench points per tilt.

Attitude reflects leadership:

Saint Joseph's – Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 (455-180, .717) – 24th collegiate season

Among the most successful coaches in all of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball, McDevitt ranks 21st among active coaches in winning percentage and 22nd in victories. Only four coaches in New England have a higher win rate and just three in the region have more wins.

During his tenure at Saint Joseph's, Coach McDevitt has guided the Monks to at least 20 wins in 15 different seasons, the 10th-highest total in the history of NCAA DIII Women's Basketball. During his career, McDevitt has garnered eight Coach of the Year honors, including the GNAC honor in 2014.

Emmanuel – Head Coach Andy Yosinoff (768-259, .748) – 39th collegiate season (all at Emmanuel)

One of the few New England women's basketball coaches to possess a more impressive résumé than McDevitt, Yosinoff ranks first in career victories among active NCAA DIII Women's Basketball skippers and second all-time with 768 wins. Earlier this season, he became the NCAA DIII women's hoops career games leader (1,027 and counting) and – with 21 20-win seasons – is one of only seven DIII Women's Basketball coaches with 20-plus twenty-win campaigns.

As mentioned above, Coach Yosinoff has led Emmanuel to 15 GNAC Championships, 18 NCAA Tournament berths – including advancements to three Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four – and nine ECAC Tournament appearances

The last time we met:

These two teams last met on February 9th, when the Saints dealt the Monks their only loss of the season, a 71-66 decision in Boston. Not necessarily the caliber of contest one might expect from two of the top GNAC teams, Emmanuel (30) and St. Joe's (29) combined to commit 59 turnovers (season-highs for both teams), including 20 in the first quarter alone, that night. The difference in the game proved to be the Saints' bench, which netted 27 points, while the Monks shot just 39% (23-59) from the field and received only 13 bench points in the losing effort.

Historically speaking:

Emmanuel owns a daunting 17-2 all-time record versus Saint Joseph's, including an 11-1 mark since the Monks joined the GNAC in 2007. The Saints have defeated the Monks in seven consecutive meetings dating back to the 2010-11 season and have never lost in the Alfond Center with a 5-0 record on the Monks' home court.

Saint Joseph's last defeated Emmanuel on January 7th, 2010 when the Monks topped the Saints, 60-47, in Boston. Current Assistant Coach Megan McDevitt '12 led all players with 19 points off a 5-9 three-point shooting effort that evening versus the Saints, who entered the contest ranked 23rd nationally.

*Preview written by Saint Joseph's College Sports Information Dept.