SAINTS CRUISE PAST ANNA MARIA IN 86-46 VICTORY

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) netted a game-high 22 points to lead the Emmanuel College women's basketball team past Anna Maria College, 86-46, Thursday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center. The 86 points were a season-high for the Saints and the most since an 87-58 win vs. Suffolk University on Feb. 23, 2012. With the victory, the Saints improve to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The win was also the program's 32nd consecutive GNAC regular-season victory, tying them for the third-longest active D-III conference winning streak behind Amherst College (38) and Babson College (64). The loss drops the AMCats to 4-11 and 0-2 in GNAC play.

The game opened with some sloppy basketball on both ends as the two squads combined for six turnovers over the first two minutes of action. The Saints potent offense was held at bay by the AMCats and a layup by AMC senior guard Alison McCarthy (Lynn, Mass.) evened the score at 8-8 with 13:14 left in the half. O'Dwyer answered on the next possession to pull the Saints ahead for the good, sparking Emmanuel's offense for the remainder of the half.

Over the final 12 minutes in the opening frame, the Saints would pour in 30 points to take a commanding 44-27 lead into the locker room at the half. O'Dwyer led the way with all of her 22 points before the break, shooting 10-12 from the field and a perfect 2-2 from the charity stripe.

Emmanuel was able to force 15 AMCat turnovers in the first half which they would convert into 16 points. The Saints bench also outscored Anna Maria's by a 29-2 margin in the opening stanza.

EC came out of the gates on fire in the second half, opening the first 90 seconds with a 10-0 spurt to take a 54-27 lead and put the game out of reach. A three pointer by AMCat sophomore guard Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) ended the run to make it 54-30 but Emmanuel would continue to roll, going on another 11-0 run to extend its lead to 65-30.

The Saints would cruise to the 86-46 victory, as the bench held a final 50-7 scoring advantage over AMC's second unit.

Pryor led the way for Anna Maria, finishing the contest with 15 points while junior forward Kayla Cummings contributed 10 points for the AMCats.

Sophomore forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) was in double-figures for the Saints with a season-best 13 points while senior guard Laura Benvenuto (Wykoff, N.J.) netted 12 points in the win. Junior guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass.) also finished with 12 points on the night.

The Saints are back in action on Saturday, January 19 when they head to Providence, R.I. to face Johnson & Wales University in another GNAC battle while the AMCats also hit the road on Saturday to take on Saint Joseph's College (ME). Both games tip at 1:00 PM.