Women's Basketball Opens Season's Second Half With 77-67 Win at Lasell

NEWTON, Mass. – Emmanuel women's basketball used a strong third quarter surge, outscoring Lasell 30-15 over those 10 minutes, helping lift the Saints to a 77-67 victory over the Lasers on Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

The Saints (6-7, 3-0 GNAC) start the 2024 portion of their schedule on the right foot and have won three of their last four, dating back to Dec. 9. The Lasers (6-6, 1-2 GNAC) have lost their last two, both in conference play.

Leading 31-28 at the half, the Saints started the third quarter on a 16-5 run in the first 3:58, opening up their largest lead to that point, 47-33. Emmanuel shot 7-of-9 from the field in that stretch, getting eight points from first-year Meagan Schuermann (Cooperstown, N.Y.) and six points from senior Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.).

After a brief pushback from Lasell, the Saints responded and grew their lead to close out third, outscoring the Lasers 12-5 in the final minutes, boosting their lead to 61-43 after three quarters.

The visitors lead by as many as 21 early in the fourth quarter, but Lasell was far from done. A 7-0 stretch over 1:18 cut the deficit to 65-51. An Emmanuel run was quickly answered with nine consecutive points from Lasell that made the score 74-66. Ultimately, the Lasers would run out of time for a comeback, as the Saints saw out the final minutes in Wednesday's victory.

Schuermann scored a career-high 21 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field in 25 minutes off the bench. The rookie guard added four rebounds and four steals. Junior Paris Atuahene (Phoenix, Ariz.) added 14 points and eight assists over 34 minutes. Senior Kiera Eubanks (Portland, Maine) chipped in with a dozen points in only 16 minutes.

Lasers sophomore Shirle Major (Worcester, Mass.) scored a team-high 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals. Fellow sophomore Kiara Cerruti (Canton, Mass.) added 13 points in a game-high 37 minutes.

Emmanuel looks to keep an unbeaten mark in the GNAC, returning to play on Saturday, Jan. 13, hosting Norwich on Andy Yosinoff Court at 3:00 p.m. Lasell welcomes New England College for a GNAC tip on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.