Women’s Hoops Opens GNAC Play with Convincing 85-34 Victory over Rivier

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College women’s basketball team used a dominant first half performance en route to an 85-34 victory over Rivier University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener for both squads. The Saints outscored the Raiders 49-6 in the opening stanza to cruise to the GNAC win.

Women’s Hoops Opens GNAC Play with Convincing 85-34 Victory over Rivier
Video Box Score

Team Stats

January 11, 2020

THE BASICS 
 Score:             
Emmanuel College, 85; Rivier University, 34
Records:         
Emmanuel College Saints (9-4, 1-0 GNAC)
Rivier University Raiders (4-8, 0-1 GNAC)
Location:         
Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court
Date:               
Saturday, January 11, 2020

THE LEAD:  The Emmanuel College women's basketball team used a dominant first half performance en route to an 85-34 victory over Rivier University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener for both squads. The Saints outscored the Raiders 49-6 in the opening stanza to cruise to the GNAC win.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

  • Emmanuel set the tone by opening the action with a 14-0 run, capped by a three from sophomore guard Korie Mathis (Duluth, Ga.).
  • Following a jumper by Rivier junior Catherine Torpey (Melrose, Mass.) to get the Raiders on the board, Emmanuel closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run fueled by six points from senior Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) to give the hosts a 24-4 cushion after one.
  • Sophomore forward Alexandra Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) connected on Rivier's first attempt from the floor in the second quarter to make it 24-6 before the Saints went on to score 25 unanswered points to close the half ahead 49-6. Junior Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) led Emmanuel with seven in the quarter while Mathis chipped in with six.
  • The Raider offense regrouped at the break and battled the Saints to a 17-17 score in the third quarter but the damage was done and Emmanuel cruised to the 85-34 conference win to improve to 9-4 on the year.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

  • Mathis finished the action with a career-high 14 points and five steals over 19 minutes of acton.
  • Ramirez-Tejeda notched a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds including 10 on the offensive glass.
  • Fiin was also in double-figures with 16 points, adding five rebounds.
  • Jaden Smith (Nashua, N.H.) and Arianna Motivala (Nashua, N.H.) led Rivier with 10 points each off the bench.
  • The Saints dominated the glass in the win, setting a new single-game program record with 71 rebounds in the win to hold a 71-37 advantage on the glass.
  • Emmanuel is now 29-0 all-time against Rivier and has averaged 85.9 points over the career-series, the highest total against any opponent the Saints have played more than 10 times.

UP NEXT

  • EC returns to action on Monday January 13, hitting the road to take on Eastern Connecticut State University at 7:00 PM in a non-conference affair in Willimantic, Conn.
  • The Raiders are back on Wednesday, January 15 when they travel to Paxton, Mass. to face Anna Maria College at 7:00 PM in more GNAC action.