FOX, HIGGINS DROP 17 IN 96-70 WIN OVER PINE MANOR

BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) and senior forward Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) scored 17 points each to power the Emmanuel College women's basketball team past Pine Manor College, 96-70, Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center gymnasium. With the win, the Saints improve to 6-4 on the year while the loss drops the Gators to 1-8 overall.

Following more than two minutes of scoreless play to open the game, Pine Manor jumped out to an early 4-1 lead following a layup by sophomore forward Erica Jones (Atlanta, Ga.). The Gators extended the lead to 13-7 after senior guard Alexis Lee (Akron, Ohio) buried a three ball with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter. Emmanuel answered with an 8-0 run fueled by six points from Fox to take a 15-13 lead with 2:35 to play in the period. EC would maintain the two-point lead heading into the second quarter of play on top 19-17.

The up-tempo action continued during the second quarter with the teams combining to score 40 points in the frame. Emmanuel led by as many as eight in the quarter but Pine Manor stayed close as senior forward Khiyana Isaac (Roxbury, Mass.) converted an old-fashion three-point play to pull the Gators to within two at 31-29 with just under five minutes to play in the half. Over the next two minutes, the Saints rattled off a 6-0 run to jump ahead 37-29 following back-to-back layups by junior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.). Emmanuel led at the break 41-35 despite committing 12 turnovers in the first half.

The Saints took control of the action in the third quarter, outscoring Pine Manor 30-14 in the frame to take a 71-49 lead into the final quarter. An 8-2 run to start the half got the hosts going as Higgins converted a pair of shots during the melee. Leading 58-47 with three minutes to play in the third, the Saints put the game out of reach by closing out the quarter on a 13-2 run behind a pair of three-pointers by freshman shooting guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) as well as two buckets in the paint by rookie center Mary McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) to give the hosts a comfortable 71-49 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Emmanuel was able to outscore the Gators 25-21 in the final frame en route to the 96-70 victory to close out the first semester.

Higgins finished the day with her second consecutive double-double, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with her 17 points. Fox was 8-for-13 from the field in a career-high effort for the sophomore. Ezell added a season-high 15 points in the win while McLaughlin finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Jones paced the Gators with a team-high 17 points while Isaac chipped in with 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Lee and junior forward Fredrika Lawson (Dorchester, Mass.) added 13 points each in the losing effort.

Emmanuel is now idle until December 31 when they head to West Palm Beach, Fla. for the Keiser University New Year's Classic in which they'll take on CCNY at 1:00 PM followed by a contest vs. Cairn University on January 2 at 1:00 PM. The Gators will be back in the Fenway on Thursday when they wrap up their semester with a non-conference match up against Wentworth at 7:00 PM.