ORONO, Maine – The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team built a 12-point lead with four minutes remaining and, despite a late charge from Maine, held on for a 63-62 win over the Black Bears on Friday evening at Memorial Gym.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Maine (0-1) opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Adrianna Smith as Saint Joseph's (2-0) struggled to find points in the early possessions.
• The Hawks opened their account at the free-throw line before Faith Stinson knocked down a 3-pointer to help the visitors go on a 6-0 run.
• The defensive battle continued through the quarter after Gabby Casey collected her sixth point of the night at the charity stripe. One basket from Maine in the final 2:37 tied the game at 12 after the first quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER

• The teams traded baskets in the opening four minutes of the frame before a Hawk run built a lead.
• Back-to-back possessions saw Casey and Rhian Stokes knock down triples before Jill Jekot finished off the 8-0 run to give SJU a 22-14 lead.
• Maine scored six of the final eight points in the half to trim St. Joe's lead to 24-20.

 
THIRD QUARTER

• Stinson opened the quarter with the first five points for the Hawks, reaching double figures for the first time in her SJU career.
• The teams traded nine consecutive baskets before Stinson scored six straight points to give the Hawks a 42-34 lead.
• The hosts closed within three points, but baskets by Emily Knouse and Casey in the final minute gave the Hawks a seven-point lead entering the final quarter.

 
FOURTH QUARTER

• A pair of free throws from Cecilia Kay put the Hawks up by double figures for the first time, leading 50-40 with just under eight minutes to play.
• The Black Bears cut the deficit to five before Casey calmly responded with a basket to break up the run. Jekot also answered with back-to-back baskets including a 3-pointer, to push the lead to 12.
• Maine continued to fight, using an 11-2 run over 3:38 to draw within three with 24 seconds remaining.
• St. Joe's kept the lead at two possessions after knocking down free throws. With no time on the clock, Maine buried a consolation 3-pointer as the Hawks held on for a 63-62 win.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Gabby Casey led the Hawks with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. She also added nine rebounds to nearly average a double-double through two games.
• Faith Stinson recorded 11 of her 16 points in the third quarter, finishing 7-of-12 from the field. The senior knocked down two 3-pointers, adding three rebounds and three assists.
• Rhian Stokes added 11 points and four assists. Jill Jekot was the fourth Hawk in double figures with 11 points, adding six rebounds.
• Aleah Snead registered a career-high seven assists.
• Kaylie Griffin grabbed four rebounds, establishing a career-high. She also added four assists.
• Cecilia Kay blocked three shots in just 10 minutes.
• Saint Joseph's finished 23-of-53 from the field for 43.4 percent, making 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from distance. The Hawk defense held Maine to just 23-of-66 from the field, limiting the Black Bears to just 34.8 percent from the floor.
• The Hawks assisted on 21 of their 23 made baskets.
• The teams combined for just 13 turnovers with Maine holding a 9-4 advantage.
• The win was the first in series history by the visiting team, with hosts holding a 4-0 advantage heading into the matchup.
• St. Joe's won its fourth consecutive road opener and moved to 4-1 all-time against Maine.
• The Hawks are now 32-5 in nonconference games since 2022-23, including 19-1 in the month of November in that span.

UP NEXT
The Hawks return home for a two-game homestand, starting with Cincinnati on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena.