BANGOR – When traditional Maine Athletic Conference rivals Husson vs. Saint Joseph’s meet on the basketball court, the intensity and emotion are a notch higher than most regular-season games.

So when the once-beaten Monks and the sub-.500 Braves squared off Thursday night, few who witnessed the contest were surprised it went down to the final buzzer.

Leslie Trott of Husson came up short on a 3-pointer as time expired Thursday as Saint Joseph’s of Standish held on for a 61-59 women’s basketball victory over the Braves at Newman Gym.

Coach Mike McDevitt’s Monks improved to 17-1 overall, 8-0 in MAC play in a seesaw game against Husson. The Braves slipped to 7-10 and 2-4, respectively.

“We’ve been spoiled. Most of our games have been double-digit wins,” McDevitt said.

“Throw the rivalry, the emotion of Saint Joe’s-Husson into the mix, and I think it’s a great equalizer,” he added. Give Husson all the credit. They outplayed us.”

The heightened excitement seemed to have an effect on the teams’ execution. The Monks committed 26 turnovers and the Braves had 23.

“We didn’t play well at all,” said Stacey Gelinas, who led Saint Joseph’s with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. “We probably didn’t deserve to win that game, but at the end I think we just bore down and we got it done both offensively and defensively.”

Husson trailed 60-54 with 1:44 left, but made a final run at SJC. Kelly Dow converted a spinning baseline move with 1:22 remaining, then Trott buried a clutch 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 60-59.

The teams traded timeouts with 22 seconds to play, before the Monks set up for their final play. The Braves backed off, but chose to foul once the clock hit 10 seconds.

Sue Picard made the front end of the double bonus but missed the second with eight seconds left. Liz Boone rebounded for Husson and got the ball to Rebekah Sexton, who drove down the left side.

She appeared to have a lane to the basket, but slipped slightly and lost the handle. She recovered and kicked the ball out to Trott, who only had time to throw up a hurried shot at the buzzer.

“It was a coach’s decision coming down the floor whether we call timeout or let them go, and I let them go,” said Husson coach Harold Williams. “We had an opportunity to win and that’s all we can ask.”

Picard finished with 13 points for the Monks, including two key 3-pointers in the second half. Tara Gagnon chipped in with 11 points, while Lynn Marcotte pulled down 10 rebounds. Saint Joseph’s outrebounded the hosts 42-33.

Trott paced Husson with 19 points, six rebounds, six assists, six steals and four blocked shots. Boone connected for 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Dow finished with nine points. Meghan Hughes added 10 rebounds.

Husson led 35-29 early in the second half, but McDevitt called timeout and implemented a 2-2-1 full-court press that seemed to jumpstart the Monks.

Picard swished a 3-pointer at the 15:27 mark to kick off what would become a 12-0 scoring surge by the visitors. Back-to-back hoops by Gelinas put SJC in front 36-35.

Marcotte followed with two foul shots and Michele Gagnon drained a 3-pointer to give the Monks a 41-35 lead with 13:04 to play.

Husson later mounted a 6-0 flurry that put the Braves in front 49-45 with 6:35 left. However, Tara Gagnon scored six points during a 9-2 SJC run that gave the Monks the lead for good.

“We just couldn’t quite get enough of a lead that Husson wouldn’t believe [the Monks were the better team],” McDevitt said. “They kept themselves in the game nicely.”

MONKS 61, BRAVES 59

Husson women (7-10) Saint Joseph’s (17-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Trott 7 16 3 4 19 M. Gagnon 3 7

Sexton 3 4 0 2 7 Pelkey 0 3 2

Comeau 1 3 0 0 2 T. Gagnon 4 11

Hughes 2 7 2 4 6 Picard 5 11 13

C. Fry 0 1 0 0 0 Rice 0 7 3

Dow 4 11 1 1 9 Gelinas 8 21 3 20

Boone 5 11 6 11 16 Marcotte 1 5

Regan 0 0 0 0

Totals 22 53 12 22 59 Totals 21 55 14 22 61

Saint Joseph’s 26 61

Husson 27 59

3-pt. goals ? Saint Joseph’s (5-15): M. Gagnon 1-1, Pelkey 0-2, Picard 2-4, Gelinas 1-5, Marcotte 1-3; Husson (3-9): Trott 2-6, Sexton 1-1, Dow 0-2

Attendance: 250 (est.)