BOSTON, MA - The Emmanuel Women's Basketball Team overcame a two-point halftime deficit to top Saint Joseph's College (Me.), 60-46, in a battle of unbeaten teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The game for first place in the GNAC standings took place in Emmanuel's Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night. Both the Saints and the Monks entered the contest with identical records, 17-6 overall and undefeated at 11-0 in GNAC play.
The Valentine's Day game marked one of the GNAC's "Play 4 Kay" events, in honor of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nationwide breast cancer awareness effort. Both teams wore pink warm-up jerseys. Coaches and game operations staff donned pink attire and the referees officiated the contest with pink whistles in support of the event. All proceeds from tonight's game will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA cancer research fund.
Intense pressure defense from both clubs led to a slow start offensively, with the Saints holding a slight 6-4 edge after a put-back from Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) at 16:15. The offensive struggle continued through the twelve-minute mark, with Emmanuel shooting just 18.8% from the field and the two teams combining for 11 turnovers. The Monks took a 12-8 lead after a foul line jumper from Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) with 10:40 left in the half.
A baseline runner from Emmanuel guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass.) knotted the game at 12-all at the ten-minute mark. Monks sophomore Abby Young (North Yarmouth, Me.) dropped her first hoop of the night at 8:20 and gave the visitors a 16-15 edge.
After another hoop down low by Young and one at the other end by Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.), Negri converted an old fashioned three-point play and Emmanuel led, 20-18. A defensive stop by the Saints finished with Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocking down a bucket from the baseline and Emmanuel took a four-point lead, forcing a thirty second timeout by the Monks with six minutes left.
A 6-0 run by the Monks was capped with a free throw by Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) and Saint Joseph's owned the lead again, 24-22, with four minutes remaining in the half. The Saints' half-court zone forced a few Monks turnovers and Emmanuel forged a tie again at 26-all with under two minutes to go. A drive from the high post by Negri gave the Saints a 28-27 advantage, before Monks senior forward Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, Me.) dialed in from downtown and gave Saint Joseph's a 30-28 lead at the break.
Despite committing 13 turnovers in the opening frame, the Monks held a slight edge at halftime, taking advantage of 42.3% (11-26) shooting from the floor. Moore and Ashley Geel (St.George, Me.) led the way for Saint Joseph's with 8 points apiece in the first half.
The Saints saw a slight improvement in shooting in the later part of the first stanza, but finished the half shooting just 29.4% (10-34) from the floor. Negri led all scorers at the break with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Tiro added 7 first-half points for Emmanuel.
Emmanuel came out of the gates on fire in the second half, opening with an 11-0 run. Senior guard and this week's GNAC Player of the Week Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) scored twice out of the break and Emmanuel quickly regained the lead at 32-30. Three-straight buckets and a freebie from Negri gave the Saints' their then largest lead of the night at 39-30. Moore kicked off the second-half scoring for the Monks with a hoop at 16:10 and Saint Joseph's trailed, 39-32.
The two teams combined for just two field goals over the next five minutes of play and the Monks signaled for a timeout with Emmanuel leading, 41-34. Kirwan found Fiona O'Dywer (Stamford, Conn.) cutting in the key and the junior forward buried a turn-around, as Emmanuel went back up by nine at 47-38 at the eight-minute mark.
Emmanuel rookie Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Me.) found Ockimey cutting through the lane for a hoop that put the Saints up 52-44 with 3:14 left on the clock. Free throws by Negri would give the Saints a double-figure lead and O'Dwyer buried a trey from the wing with the shot clock winding down, to put Emmanuel up, 57-45, with just a minute and a half to go.
The Monks' only points in the final three minutes of play came off of two free throws. The Saints finished the game with their largest lead of the night, pulling away with the 60-46 win.
The Saints' pressure defense held the Monks to just six second-half field goals and forced Saint Joseph's into 16 turnovers in the second frame. The Monks won the battle of the boards, with a 45-39 rebounding margin, but hit just 50% of their free throws (11-22).
Negri led all scorers with 20 points and 13 rebounds for her 2nd double-double of the year. Negri's 13 boards were a game-high and tied her collegiate career-high. Kirwan finished with 14 points off of 5 for 10 shooting. O'Dwyer chipper in with 7 points and 7 rebounds, while Mikulanecz dished out a team-high 4 assists.
Geel also recorded a double-double for the Monks, with 12 points and 10 boards. Moore hit for 12 points and hauled in 8 rebounds, while Young rounded out a trio of double-figure scorers with 10 points. Senior forward Allie Parent (Camden, Me.) ran the show for the Monks, dishing out a game-high 8 assists on the night.
Both teams have just one regular season conference game remaining. Emmanuel will travel to Mount Ida College on Saturday (2/18) for a 1pm start with the Mustangs. Saint Joseph's will head to New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday for a date with the Albertus Magnus College Falcons at 1pm.
COURTESY OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION
