GORHAM, Maine - Sophomore
Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) had a game-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting (4-for-4 from three) to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a lopsided 70-35 win over the Saint Joseph's College Monks in a non-conference women's basketball game Sunday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
Playing just 25 minutes, Wiles added six assists and three rebounds without a turnover. Sophomore
Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) added 15 points (7-for-14 shooting) with five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot, while graduate student
Liz Cote (North Conway, NH/Kennett) added 11 points and four rebounds. Senior
Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) had a game and career-high 13 rebounds to go with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting.
Elisabeth Stapelfeld and Madison Lebel each had seven points to pace the Monks. Lebel added 11 rebounds.
The Records:
Saint Joseph's (3-4)
Southern Maine (4-1)
Today's game marked the 57th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Saint Joseph's College Monks. Southern Maine leads the overall series 42-15. Saint Joseph's has won the last nine meetings consecutively, including a 68-38 win on December 1, 2024
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. Today's game is the 35
th game in the series. USM leads the series 22-13. Saint Joseph's College had won the last nine consecutively dating back to the 2015-2016 season. The Huskies last won the cup in overtime, 65-57, on November 30, 2014.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Cote canned a three on an assist from Wiles to start the game and the Huskies rattled off the first eight points of the contest to lead wire-to-wire. The Monks hit back-to-back threes from Abby Dube and Brown to make it a 10-6 game with 5:18 to go, but Southern Maine pushed back closing the first on an 11-1 run to lead 21-7 headed to the second.
- The Huskies offense continued to fire on all cyclinders in the second quarter and USM lead by 20, 32-12, on a jumper from Wiles. Outscoring the Monks 19-9 in the second, Cote had the Huskies up 40-16 draining a three with a second to go until the break.
- Lebel scored the first points of the third to make it a 40-18 deficit for the Monks, but the Huskies outpaced SJC 20-6 in the frame, sealing the win. After a layup from Lebel at 8:55, the Monks did not score again in the third until the 51 second mark as USM rattled off a 16-0 run. The Huskies led 60-22 headed into the fourth.
- The Monks scored the first eight points of the fourth on back-to-back threes from Lebel and Stapelfeld, and a layup from Stapelfeld, but the Huskies outscored SJC 10-5 the rest of the way for the 70-35 final.
Inside The Statistics:
- Southern Maine finished the game shooting 45 percent (27-for-60) from the field, and 40 percent (10-for-25) from three. SJC shot 18.3 percent (11-for-60).
- The Huskies outscored the Monks 26-10 in the paint, and scored 20 of their 70 points off of 15 SJC turnovers.
- Led by Christopher's 13 rebounds, the Huskies had a 48-35 lead on the boards.
Up Next:
Southern Maine opens its Little East Conference schedule on the road at UMass Boston on Wednesday, December 3 (5:00 pm) before hosting WestConn on Saturday, December 6 (1:00 pm). The Huskies' final home game of 2025 is on Wednesday, December 10 (5:30 pm) against UMaine Farmington.
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