HIGGINS HITS 1,000 POINT MILESTONE; SAINTS KNOCK OFF UNBEATEN MONKS

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel senior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) scored the 1,000^th point of her career to lead the Saints past Saint Joseph's College (ME), 71-66, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Tuesday night.

The win lifts the Saints to 17-6 (8-1 GNAC) and hands the Monks (17-5, 7-1 GNAC) their first conference loss of the season. Both teams are now locked in a three-way tie with Johnson & Wales for first place in the conference standings.

Higgins led Emmanuel with 19 points in her milestone effort, shooting 8-13 from the floor. The senior captain also pulled down eight rebounds in the win.

After the teams played an even first quarter of 11-11, the Saints opened things up in the second with a 16-5 run over the final five minutes. Six different Saints scored in that run alone as the lead grew to 37-26 heading into the break.

Emmanuel opened the third quarter with nine straight points and led by as many as 21 before St. Joe's began to chip away. The Monks, led by Morgan Cahill's 20 points, posted a 14-3 run of their own to cut the deficit to 54-45 with 8:41 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The game would remain between eight and twelve points down the stretch, until six-time GNAC Rookie of the Week Kelsi McNamara hit a layup to shorten the lead to 65-58 with 2:19 left in regulation.

McNamara, who opened the game 0-10 from the field, knocked down a pair of three-point field goals in the final seconds, but the Monks were unable to get closer than four points as EC freshman Olivia Dalphonse grabbed a steal and hit a free throw to ice it.

Both teams struggled to control the ball, as the Saints turned it over 30 times to the Monks' 29.

The EC bench once again proved to be the difference, outscoring the Saint Joe's reserves 27-13. The Saints shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the field, while the visitors posted 39.0 percent (23-59).

The Saints are back in action for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 13, as they host the Simmons College Sharks at 1:00 p.m. Sarah Higgins and Devin Rauh will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The game will also be Lena Negri's final regular-season home game, but the grad student was honored as a senior last season.