Whirlwind Travel Day Doesn't Slow Saints in 72-46 Win vs. Colby in FL Sunshine Shootout

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Colby College, 46 – Emmanuel College, 72

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (6-4, 2-1 GNAC)
Colby College Mules(4-6, 0-0 NESCAC)

Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. – Ocean Center

Date: Thursday, December 29, 2022

THE LEAD – Less than 24 hours after a 22-hour bus ride from Boston, Mass. to Dayton Beach, Fla., the Emmanuel College women's basketball team put together one of its strongest performances of the season to power past Colby College, 72-46, in the Florida Sunshine Shootout.

After their original flight on December 27^th was cancelled, Coach Andy Yosinoff's squad rallied behind one another in support of busing down to Florida from Boston in order to play in their winter break games. The trip took just over 22 hours with two drivers rotating shifts but the Saints made it to the Sunshine State late Thursday afternoon.

"This may be the craziest thing we've done in my 46 years of coaching at Emmanuel," said Yosinoff. "I'm proud of my players and coaches for wanting to still make the trip so that everyone would have the opportunity to play these games. It shows this group has a lot of heart and that's something you can't coach."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Colby jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on back-to-back hoops by Gabrielle Hemenes (Queens, N.Y.) but EC went on to outscore the Mules 18-8 over the final 7:37 of the quarter behind six points each from juniors Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) and Kiera Eubanks (Portland, Maine) to take the 18-12 lead into the second stanza.
• Emmanuel opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to open up a 27-12 advantage, capped with a layup from Eubanks for her 10^th point of the half.
• The Saints led by as many as 19 in the second following a three-ball by senior Cait Barker (Plainville, Conn.) before Colby rattled off the final seven points of the half to cut the deficit to 33-21 heading into halftime.
• A three by Chelsea Ibenegbu (Staten Island, N.Y.) pulled the Mules to within 10 at 37-27 with 8:26 remaining in the third before Emmanuel responded with an 11-0 spurt with Matela converting the layup to put the Saints ahead 48-27 with 3:44 left in the third.
• EC carried the 21 point lead (54-33) into the final quarter and ended any thought of a Colby comeback by opening the fourth on a 13-3 surge to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 67-36 with 5:22 remaining.
• The Mules made up some ground before the final buzzer, ultimately falling to the Saints by a final of 72-46.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Matela led all scorers with 16 points over 22 minutes of action, adding three assists and two steals in the win.
• Barker finished with a season-high 14 points going 4-for-6 from long range while Eubanks added 10 points, all coming in the first half.
• EC sophomore forward Desiree Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) was a bucket away from a double-double, scoring eight points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Ibenegbu, Hemenes and Lydia Mordarski (Mansfield, Mass.) paced the Mules with 10 points each.
• The Saints bench outscored the Mules reserves by a 27-13 margin in the win.
• EC also dominated the paint play, owning a 36-16 advantage down low.

UP NEXT

• The Saints are back in action tomorrow afternoon (December 30) when they take on North Central Minnesota in more action at the Florida Sunshine Shootout.
• Colby is now idle until Friday, January 6 when they open NESCAC play in Hartford, Conn. vs. Trinity College at 7:00 PM.