GORHAM, Maine  – Nina Howe hit a three from the top of the arch with 14 seconds on the game clock for the go-ahead basket and the Saint Joseph's College Monks played good enough defense during the University of Southern Maine Huskies final possession to earn a 53-52 win in a non-conference women's basketball game Sunday at Hill Gymnasium. 
 
Howe's shot was her only three of the game. She finished with eight points.  Elisabeth Stapelfield led SJC with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Grace Ramsdell had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Angelica Hurley had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
 
Senior Franny Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) led the Huskies with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.  Senior Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) had 13 points and five rebounds, while senior Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) had eight points and four rebounds. 
 
The Records:
Saint Joseph's College (4-2)
Southern Maine (1-5)
 
Today's game marked the 55^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Saint Joseph's College Monks.  Southern Maine leads the overall series 41-14. Saint Joseph's has won the last eight meetings consecutively, including a 58-42 win on November 27, 2022.
 
Costello Cup: The Costello Cup is presented annually to the winner of the contest between the rival schools and honors the late Dr. Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach for both the men's and women's programs. Tonight's win gives the Monks the cup for the eighth consecutive season, and the 12th time in the 32-game series for the Cup.   USM leads the series 21-12.  
 
 
How It Happened:

• Down by a bucket 28-26 at the half, Southern Maine outscored the Monks 17-11 in the third quarter to snag the lead from the Monks.  Ramsdell scored nine of her 17 points in the third quarter, shooting 3-for-4 from the field (1-for-1 from three) and 2-2 for the free throw line.
• The Huskies scored the first eight points of the third on layups from Gould and Ramsdell and a three from Cote for a 33-28 lead with 7:09 in the quarter. The Huskies stayed ahead of the Monks the entire quarter, but the Monks trimmed their deficit to two, 41-39, after a pair of free throws from Staplefield with 1:03 on the clock before Ramsdell gave USM a 43-39 lead headed into the fourth with a driving layup in the Huskies' final possession.
• The Monks retook the lead in the fourth with a 9-0 run to lead 48-43 with just under eight minutes on the clock. Ramsdell scored five of the Monks' nine points in the run, including the opening three. Gould stopped the run for the Huskies with a jumper in the paint, but Stapelfeld returned the favor to keep the Monks up 50-45 with 5:05 on the clock. 
• Gould again answered for the Huskies to make it 50-47, and then junior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) came up with a steal, and senior Tara Flanders (Windham, Maine) converted a layup to make it a 50-49 game with 3:52 to play.  After the Flanders' bucket, scoring cooled for both sides. USM went 0-for-4 over the next three minutes, while SJC was 0-for-2 with a pair of turnovers. 
• With the game still at 50-49, Flanders grabbed a defense rebound off of a Howe miss and then found Gould on the wing for a three with 42 seconds to play for a 52-50 Husky lead.  SJC took a time out and advanced the ball and Howe countered with a three to put her team up 53-52, and the Huskies were unable to convert on their final possession for the final.

 

• Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine finished the game shooting 18-for-53 (34.0 percent) from the field compared to Saint Joseph's 16-for-53 (30.2 percent).  The Huskies were 6-for-20 from three, and SJC was 4-for-24.  The Monks had an advantage at the free throw line making 17-for-20 (85 percent) compared to a 10-for-15 effort for USM (66.7 percent).
• USM outscored SJC in the paint 18-16.  The Monks had 18 points off of USM's 14 turnovers, while the Huskies scored 11 points off of 17 SJC turnovers.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies remain at home for the next contest hosting UMaine Farmington on Wednesday, November 29 (5:30 pm) before starting their LEC schedule on the road at Keene State on Saturday, December 2 (1:00 pm).  Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, December 6 (5:30 pm) against nationally-ranked Little East opponent Rhode Island College.
 
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