St. Joseph Pulls Through With A Victory Over Pine Manor

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) and Devon Diliberto (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 17 points apiece as Saint Joseph College defeated Pine Manor, 85-64 Monday in a GNAC game at the O'Connell Center.

Saint Joseph improved to 12-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play; Pine Manor is 7-10 overall and 1-7 in the GNAC.

Diliberto scored 11 points in the first half which included three three-pointers and Claire Consonni (Bristol, Conn.) had 10 of her 13 points before intermission as the Blue Jays led 44-31 at halftime. Paulette Wright (Baltimore, Md.) kept Pine Manor in the game with 10 first-half points. The Gators could have stayed even closer if not for numerous missed layups and fast break opportunities.

Saint Joseph pulled away early in the second half and built its biggest lead at 74-38 after a layup from Hyde with 10:18 to play. The Gators finished strong cutting a 36-point deficit to 19 in the closing stages.

Hyde made seven of nine shots and had six rebounds and three steals in only 18 minutes of action. Diliberto added a game-high six assists to go along with her 17 points. Brianna Ferraro (Waterbury, Conn.) had 10 points and five steals for Saint Joseph and Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) had 10 points and seven rebounds. Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) had nine rebounds for the Blue Jays, who outrebounded Pine Manor, 52-38.

Wright finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Pine Manor and Therline Dumeran (Cambridge, Ma.) had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Natasia Franklin (Windsor, Conn.) scored 10.

Saint Joseph hosts Norwich Wed. Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. Pine Manor next plays at Emmanuel, at 5 p.m., also on Wednesday.