Women’s Basketball Falls in GNAC Championship Game, 74-67 to St. Joe’s (ME)

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Saint Joseph's (ME) 74 – Emmanuel 67

Records: 
No. 2 North Seed – Emmanuel College Saints (22-6)
No. 1 North Seed – St. Joseph's College (ME) (23-5)

Location: Standish, Maine – Harold Alfond Center / Mike McDevitt Court

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023

THE LEAD – Monks junior Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) exploded for 18 points in the final quarter, shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, and brought the Saint Joseph's Monks back from a fourth quarter deficit to lead SJC back to the NCAA Tournament thanks to a 74-67 win over the Emmanuel Saints on Sunday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints were up seven early in the fourth quarter, but the Monks most impactful plays of the game were waiting over the next 9:14, sending Saint Joseph's to the NCAA Tournament.
• Emmanuel's lead stood at 56-49 with 9:14 remaining in regulation when the Monks exploded for a 17-2 scoring surge that took their seven-point deficit to an eight-point lead with 2:08 to go. Talon scored 14 points in the 17-2 Monks run that put them in position to win.
• Talon kicked off the run with a layup to cut the Saints lead down to five. After a three-point play by junior Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.), the next 12 points of the SJC run would come courtesy of Talon.
• EC's lead was finally broken with 5:57 remaining on consecutive SJC layups, tying the game at 58-58. One possession later, Talon struck again, giving the Monks a 60-58 lead, their first lead since 7-5 with 6:35 left in the first quarter.
• Talon's scoring spree wasn't over, with two more jumpers and two foul shots, the junior guard finished off the 7:06 span of a lifetime, ending the 17-2 run with Saint Joseph's on top 66-58 with 2:08 remaining in the game.
• All told, Talon scored 18 of the Monks 27 points in the fourth quarter while shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. Talon's only miss of the final 10 minutes came on a missed foul shot, as she finished 2-for-3 from the line in the fourth.
• The Saints would close to within four in the final minutes with sophomore Yannie Chan (Hong Kong, China) going on her own scoring run, but the effort of Chan and the Saints would fall short as the Monks pulled off a 74-67 comeback win.
• Emmanuel led 39-30 at the half when the Monks made their first big splash of the afternoon, midway through the third quarter. An SJC quick 7-0 burst in a span of 1:20, capped by a layup by first-year Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.), cut the Monks deficit to 44-40.
• Despite the Saints boosting their lead back to eight in the final minutes of the third, Stapelfeld would play a role in keeping SJC within striking distance, making back-to-back layups to end the quarter with Saint Joseph's trailing 51-47.
• The Saints would keep the Monks at bay for much of the second quarter, as every time Saint Joseph's would pull close to the lead, Emmanuel would regain their advantage to multiple possessions. EC led by as many as 11 in the second quarter with the help of free throws by first-year Angelina Giordano (Chicago, Ill.) putting them ahead 38-27.
• EC led by as many as nine in the first quarter, thanks to a layup by Chan giving the Saints a 19-10 edge, but the final basket of the quarter was a three-point make by SJC first-year Logan Brown (Brunswick, Maine), that pulled the Monks back to 19-13 through the opening 10 minutes.
• A close start to the game had the Saints and Monks deadlocked at 7-7 with 6:21 remaining in the first quarter. Emmanuel made their first move of the afternoon, going on an 8-0 run over the next 1:49 to grab a 15-7 lead.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Talon matched a career-high with 27 points, shooting 10-of-16 overall, in 32 minutes. She added two rebounds and two assists in the championship performance.
• Junior Nina Howe (York, Maine) scored 14 points, including 2-for-3 shooting from three-point distance. Howe added a team-high five assists to go with two steals.
• Stapelfeld chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds in a game-high 35 minutes.
• Chan scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting. The sophomore guard added five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
• Sophomore Desiree Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, and a career-best three blocks.
• Junior Kiera Eubanks (Portland, Maine) had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting while adding seven rebounds over 26 minutes.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

MVP – Hannah Talon, Saint Joseph's
Nina Howe, Saint Joseph's
Elisabeth Stapelfeld, Saint Joseph's
Yannie Chan, Emmanuel
Olivia Matela, Emmanuel
Alexa Dufries, Rivier
Jakara Murray-Leach, Albertus Magnus

UP NEXT

• The Monks are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season and their first round matchup will be announced on Monday, Feb. 27, at 3:00 p.m. in the NCAA Selection Show, exclusively on NCAA.com.