Top Four GNAC Seeds To Advance To GNAC Semifinals

Top Four GNAC Seeds To Advance To GNAC Semifinals
February 25, 2025
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WINTHROP, Mass. - All top four seeds in the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball tournament advanced to Thursday night's (Feb. 27th) GNAC Semifinal games after earning victories in tonight's quarterfinals matchups. Top-seeded Johnson & Wales defeated no. 8 Elms 89-50 at the Wildcat Center and will take on the No. 4 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) as the Blue Jays defeated five seed Rivier earlier tonight inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium. Two-seeded Saint Joseph's (Maine) defeated seven seed Emmanuel inside Mike McDevitt Court and will have a match-up with no. 3 Albertus Magnus, who defeated six seed Anna Maria earlier tonight in the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center. JWU will host USJ with a 6:00 pm start Thursday night while the Monks will host the Falcons with a 5:30 pm start.

Recap Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletic Communications

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman Grace Jaffray scored a game-high 29 points in 26 minutes of action for the top-seeded JWU (Providence) women's basketball team in an 89-50 win over No. 8 Elms College Tuesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal action at the Wildcat Center.

Classmate Brianne Foley knocked down four triples and finished with 18 points as the Wildcats (23-2) advanced to the semifinals for the first time in eight years, where they will host No. 4 Saint Joseph (CT) Thursday at 6 p.m. Playing their first home playoff game since February 21, 2017, JWU shot 47 percent from the field (36-of-77) and outrebounded the Blazers 56-44 behind 13 from junior Mikayla Caruso and seven from both Jaffray and Foley.

Freshman and reigning GNAC Rookie of the Week Isabella Suero filled the stat sheet with 15 points, five dimes and five assists while classmate Mia Cruz collected dished out a team-high eight assists to go with six points, four rebounds, and three steals. Caruso, meanwhile, racked up eight points and four blocks.

The Wildcats raced out to a 25-13 lead after one behind 10 from Jaffray and six from Suero. They outscored the visitors 20-8 in the second to build a 24-point halftime lead (45-21). The lead swelled to as many as 45 points (77-32) late in the third on a three from freshman Gabriela D'Ambrosio.

Elms was held to 21 percent shooting – including 5-of-28 from behind the three-point arc – and committed 19 turnovers which the Wildcats turned into 17 points. JWU also outscored the visitors 32-5 on the break.

Recap Courtesy of Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications

STANDISH, Maine – Number two Saint Joseph's College (20-6) defeated the Emmanuel College Saints (14-13) 72-65 in the GNAC women's basketball Quarterfinal on Tuesday night at home. 

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC tournament for the ninth year in a row and will host #3 Albertus Magnus in second round action on Thursday at 5:30pm. Albertus Magnus topped #6 Anna Maria, 82-62, in the other quarterfinal this evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Emmanuel led by as many as 10 points in the first half, utilizing a 16-3 run to end the first and begin the second quarter, a stretch that lasted 6:19 and put them ahead 29-19. However, the Monks closed the half on an 11-3 run, reducing the Saints' lead to just two points at the break.

Emmanuel held a 32-30 advantage heading into the pivotal third quarter, where the final 1:48 saw the key moments of Tuesday's quarterfinal game unfold.

Tied at 44-44 in the waning moments of the third, the Monks surged ahead with seven unanswered points to close the quarter. A pair of free throws from Madison Lebel (Hermon, ME) and Mackenzie Currie (Merrimac, MA), along with a three-pointer from Logan Brown (Brunswick, ME), fueled the 7-0 run that gave Saint Joseph's a 51-44 lead.

The momentum carried into the fourth, with another three-pointer from Brown and a jumper by Elisabeth Staplefeld (Brookline, N.H.) extending the Monks' lead to 12. The Saints managed to close the gap to five points in the final minutes, but a 12-0 run that spanned across two quarters and lasted 2:59 proved to be the game-changer in Saint Joseph's victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

  • Angelica Hurley (Groveland, MA) led the Monks with a game-high of 27 points, notched four rebounds, two assists, and three steals
  • Logan Brown tallied 12 points
  • Grace Ramsdell (Wells, ME) added 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal
  • Elisabeth Stapelfeld added nine points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal
  • Madison Lebel recorded six rebounds, two assists, and one steal

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

  • Lia Krumian led the Saints with 19 points, four rebounds, two steals, and three assists
  • Kalia Saunders recorded 15 points one assist and one rebound
  • Megan Reilly notched a game-high of eight rebounds with four points

Recap Courtesy of Albertus Magnus Athletic Communications 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team is moving on to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals after defeating sixth-seeded Anna Maria College, 82-62 on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals in The Nest.

Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) led all scorers with 26 points and Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 13 points with a career-high 21 rebounds.

Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) scored 15 points with five assists and four rebounds. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) also scored 15, which was a season-high.

It was also the 199th career win for head coach J.R. Fredette.

Albertus - seeded third - will now head to Saint Joseph's College (Maine) to take on the second seeded Monks on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the GNAC semifinals.

 

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 82 | Anna Maria 62

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (17-9) | Anna Maria (15-11)

BOX

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Falcons trailed just once in the game, at 3-2 early on, but that was short-lived as Murray-Leach hit a jumper, followed by a three from Scott to make it a 7-3 game. On the next possession, Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, R.I.) stole the ball which led to a layup from Murray-Leach off an assist from White. White later hit two more three-pointers and scored nine in the opening quarter as the Falcons led 18-10 after the first ten minutes.
  • Sarah Evangelista (West Haven, Conn.) hit a three to put Albertus up 21-12 and later in the quarter Zdru scored five straight points for Abertus as the Falcons took a 26-18 lead with 4:47 left.
  • Anna Maria battled back, as Arianna Gonzalez hit a three followed by a layup from Marinique Reddin after grabbing an offensive rebound. The AMCATS tied the game, 27-27 before White hit a foul-line jumper to put the Falcons back up by two points. Reddin hit a shot on the opposite end, but Scott drove into the lane for a layup with seconds remaining to give the Falcons a 31-29 lead at halftime.
  • The Falcons blitzed the AMCATS with the first nine points in the second half to take a 40-29 lead at the 8:14 mark. White started the scoring with a steal and score. On the next Albertus possession Murray-Leach grabbed an offensive rebound and found Zdru for a three. After another miss from Anna Maria, White grabbed a rebound, raced down the court and fed Scott with a bounce pass, leading to a layup. Zdru capped the run with a fastbreak layup off a pass from Murray-Leach, leading to an Anna Maria timeout.
  • Albertus continued to build on its lead as Zdru and Evangelista each hit a three to put the Falcons ahead 52-35 with 3:59 on the clock. Scott scored the final four points of the quarter as the Falcons went up 59-40 heading to the fourth.
  • The Falcons took their biggest lead of the game 21 second into the fourth as Murray-Leach grabbed an offensive rebound and made the put back to make it a 61-40 game.
  • Anna Maria got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way as the Falcons went 12-for-16 from the free-throw line in the quarter. Scott scored 12 points in the final frame while Murray-Leach had five points and six rebounds.

 

 

TEAM STATS

Albertus

41.8 FG% | 28.1 3PT% | 70.8 FT%

 

Anna Maria

28.6 FG% | 24.0 3PT% | 69.6 FT%

 

 

LEADERS

Albertus

Caitlyn Scott 26 Points | 7-14 FG | 11-14 FT | 6 Rebounds | 7 Assists | 2 Steals | 2 Blocks

Jakara Murray-Leach 13 Points | 21 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 3 Blocks

Diamond White 15 Points | 4 Rebounds | 5 Assists

Amanda Zdru 15 Points | 5-9 FG | 3-7 3PT 

 

Anna Maria

Marinique Reddin 24 Points | 18 Rebounds 

Madison Paulhus 12 Points | 5 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 3 Steals

Arianna Gonzalez 11 Points | 5 Rebounds

 

NOTEWORTHY

Murray-Leach now has 12 double-doubles on the season and has acheived the feat in three consecutive games.

Albertus is now 16-5 all-time against Anna Maria.

Albertus has now made the GNAC semifinals in six of the last seven seasons.

Recap Courtesy of University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Athletic Communications

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Graduate student forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) scored a career-high 37 points to power the fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team past fifth-seeded Rivier University (Rivier), 93-84, during the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals Tuesday night inside James. A Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays improved to 17-9 overall on the season and advanced to the GNAC Semifinals for the second consecutive season, while the Raiders concluded their year 15-11 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Rivier grabbed the early lead, holding a 9-4 edge with 7:18 left to play in the opening quarter.
  • USJ fought back, using an 8-2 stretch capped off by free throws from senior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.), to take the lead, 12-11, with 4:53 on the first-quarter clock.
  • The Raiders responded by regaining a five-point edge, 19-14, but an Ouellette jumper rounded out an 8-0 USJ run, as the Blue Jays took a 22-19 lead with 1:44 left in the first quarter.
  • However, Rivier would sink an incredible half-court buzzer-beating three to close out the first, tying the game at 27-27.
  • USJ responded to open the second period, utilizing a 10-0 run, featuring seven points from graduate student guard Taylor Verboven (Columbia, Conn.), to break open a 37-27 gap with 6:31 to play before halftime.
  • Rivier cut the disadvantage to two, but another 10-0 stretch by the hosts, fueled by a triple from Slisz, established a 12-point USJ lead, 47-35, with 2:38 left in the opening half.
  • The Raiders closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, as the Blue Jays entered the halftime break with a 47-41 advantage.
  • The two teams traded buckets to open the second half, until a 9-0 USJ run, capped off by an Ouellette layup, saw the Blue Jays hold a 65-48 edge with 2:51 remaining in the third period.
  • USJ maintained its lead to close out the third, taking a 71-55 lead into the fourth and final quarter.
  • The Blue Jays continued to pull away, as Ouellette knocked down another jumper, increasing the lead to 76-59 with 7:45 left to play.
  • Rivier would respond though, using an 8-0 stretch to cut the gap back to single-digits, 76-67, and forced a USJ timeout at the 5:17 mark.
  • Freshman guard Sequoia Turcotte Briggs (Andover, Conn.) put an end to the run with a three-pointer out of the break, increasing the edge to 79-67 with 4:56 left on the clock.
  • USJ began to pull back away, as graduate student forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) knocked down a pair of free throws, establishing a 13-point advantage, 90-77, with 1:20 left to go.
  • The Blue Jays would ice out the Raiders for the remainder of the game, securing the victory, 93-84.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

  • Ouellette paced the team with a career-high 37 points.
  • Verboven and Slisz also finished in double-figures, scoring 17 and 14 points, respectively.
  • Heslin and Slisz both hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds.
  • Slisz nearly recorded a triple-double, dishing out eight assists.
  • USJ outshot Rivier from the field 57.1% to 38.8%.
  • The Blue Jays outrebounded the Raiders, 46-34.
  • Rivier scored 24 points off 22 USJ turnovers.

UP NEXT

The fourth-seeded Blue Jays advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, February 27, and will play top-seeded Johnson & Wales University. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Wildcats inside the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I. is set for 6:00 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 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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