CASTINE, Maine -- Maine Maritime Academy women's basketball fell to Saint Joseph's College of Maine 80-53 in the non-conference season opener for both teams, inside of Smith Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

The Mariners took their only lead of the game, 4-2, following layups from both Alayne Felix (Mahopac, N.Y.) and Emily Melick (Sudbury, Mass.) but the Monks built up a five-point advantage following five-consecutive points from Julia Champagne. Maine Maritime battled back to tie the game at 11-11 after a good three from Megan McLean (Eliot, Maine) and four-straight points from Chloe Smedley (York, Maine). Julia Quinn hit a three-pointer to send the Monks into the second quarter with a 20-16 lead.

The Monks led by as much as 13 late in the second quarter, and took a 10-point lead into the intermission. 

Felix led the Mariners in the first half with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and Champagne led the Monks with 13 points, including five points from the line.

St. Joseph's went on to lead by as much as 21 points in the third quarter and led by as much as 34 in the fourth quarter before the Mariners went on a seven-point run to close out the game. The Monks took the 80-53 victory. 

Felix ended the evening with 16 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the floor, and pulled down five rebounds and tallied an assist. Melick contributed seven points, two assists and a rebound, while McLean added a team-high six assists, five rebounds, three points and a steal and Smedley added five points, five rebounds and two steals.

Champagne led five Monks in double-digit points with 19, she also added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Kelsi McNamara added 17 points, a team-best six assists and a block, while Emily Benway contributed 16 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal and both Regan McFerran and Quinn added 10 points. 

The Monks shot 51.7 percent from the floor, while the Mariners shot 39.2 percent. 

The Mariners fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Monks improve to 1-0. Maine Maritime returns to action on Saturday at the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament when they face Mount Holyoke at 1:00 p.m.. The Monks travel to New Hampshire to face Babson, on Friday, in the Keene State Tip-Off Tournament at 6:00 pm.