WOMEN'S HOOP TEAM FALLS TO EMERSON FOR FIRST TIME EVER
Feb. 11, 2009
BOSTON, MASS. - The Emerson College Lions (16-7, 8-2 Great Northeast Athletic Conference) built a 10-point halftime lead and then had to rally to defeat Emmanuel College (15-7, 8-1 GNAC), 70-66, at Emerson's Brown-Plofker Gym. The game featured 13 lead changes and 7 ties. The victory for the Lions is the first over Emmanuel in the history of the program. The Saints' loss snapped a 10-game win streak that Emmanuel had built since early January.
Following a sloppy start in which neither team scored for the first 2:43 of the game, Emmanuel's Abby Brenkach (Germantown, N.Y.) hit a layup to open the scoring. Emmanuel began a 10-6 lead on a Karin Bird (Lee, Maine) jump shot, but Emerson rallied to take a 12-10 lead on layups by Lauren Vassallo (Oxford, Conn), Lauren Zaniboni (San Diego, Calif.), and Kathy Andrade (Hull, Mass.).
From that point on, the two teams traded baskets and leads until Emerson went on a 9-0 run to take a 28-20 lead with 6:05 remaining in the opening stanza. Jumpers by Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) and Bird brought the Saints to within four, but Emerson answered with layups by Vassallo and Andrea Kosek (Latham, N.Y.) to stretch the lead back to eight. LeBel dropped in a jump shot, but two Zanaboni free throws and a three-ball from Rachel Kaye (Wakefield, Mass.) gave the Lions an 11-point lead at the 1:03 mark. LeBel connected on a big three for the Saints only 18 seconds later, and Vassallo ended the first half scoring with a layup for a 39-29 Lion lead at the break.
Emmanuel opened the second half strongly with a 12 - 4 run to begin the period. Another LeBel jump shot pulled the Saints within a basket at 43-41. Emerson countered with seven straight points, capped by a Bri Papa (Camilus, N.Y.) trifecta for a 50-41 Lion lead with 14:32 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Emmanuel began to assert itself defensively, holding down the Lions over the next 4:40 while going on a 9-4 run.
The Saints continued to chip away at the Emerson lead and took a 59-58 lead on a Liz Brooks (Charlton, Mass.) layup with 7:07 left. Zaniboni hit the front end of a two shot foul to tie the game, but Brooks completed a traditional three-point play at the other end to give Emmanuel a 62-59 lead. Layups by Kaye and Andrade sandwiched around a Saint turnover moved the score to 63-62 with 5:41 left.
Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) bagged a layup at the 3:48 mark, then hit two free throws with 3:05 remaining to give the Saints a 66-63 advantage. Maude Okrah (Rutland, Mass.) canned a jump shot for Emerson at 2:46 to pull the Lions to within one, and Emerson took advantage of a missed Emmanuel shot to take a 67-66 lead on an Andrade jumper at the 2:05 mark.
Neither team was able to score from the field for the remainder of the contest, with Emerson getting two free throws from Kosek and one from Andrade to account for the final margin. Emerson placed four players in double, led by Andrade with 13 points. Vassallo had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Okrah and Kaye each had 10 points. Zaniboni had nine points and 10 rebounds, while Kosek and Papa each dropped in eight. Kosek also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
LeBel and Davis tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points each. LeBel shot 50% from the field (8-16) in her 39 minutes played. Brooks scored a dozen points on 5 for 5 shooting in just 12 minutes played. Davis also added 10 rebounds in the effort.
Despite the loss, Emmanuel remains in first place in the GNAC and will host the GNAC Tournament beginning on February 24th. The win for the Lions solidifies Emerson's hold on second place in the GNAC and guarantees Emerson a home playoff game in the first round of the conference tournament.
Emmanuel's next game is Saturday when the Saints host Lasell College at 1:00. Emerson hosts St. Joseph College (CT) on Saturday at 3:00pm.